Dreamcatcher Alpacas
Alpaca health · Digestive problems

Stomach Ulcers (C3 Ulcers) in Alpacas

Updated 2026-10-02By the Dreamcatcher Alpacas editorial team6 peer-reviewed references
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Urgent — contact your vet today

Early treatment makes a big difference. Don't wait more than a day.

Ulcers in the third stomach compartment, often linked to stress and illness. They can perforate and cause fatal peritonitis.

Category
Digestive problems
Urgency
Urgent
Also called
Third compartment ulcers, Gastric ulcers

Signs & symptoms

  • Reduced appetite, picking at food
  • Teeth grinding
  • Mild colic, lying down more
  • Dark feces (digested blood)
  • Sudden death if an ulcer perforates

Related symptom guides: Alpaca Not Eating, Teeth Grinding.

What causes it?

Stress, illness, NSAID use, high-grain diets and reduced feed intake.

Risk factors

  • Transport, weaning and hospitalization
  • Concurrent disease
  • Grain-heavy diets

How vets diagnose it

Difficult to diagnose; ultrasound, blood work and fecal occult blood tests help.

Treatment

Your vet may use injectable acid-reducing drugs (oral drugs work poorly in camelids), forage-based diet and stress reduction.

Do not wait to see if it improves. Camelids hide illness, and by the time signs are obvious the problem is often advanced. Call your veterinarian.

Prevention

  • Minimize stress
  • Forage-based diet
  • Use anti-inflammatory drugs only as prescribed

Background

Peptic ulcer disease refers to damage of the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines is a duodenal ulcer. The most common symptoms of a duodenal ulcer are waking at night with upper abdominal pain, and upper abdominal pain that improves with eating. With a gastric ulcer, the pain may worsen with eating. The pain is often described as a burning or dull ache. Other symptoms include belching, vomiting, weight loss, or poor appetite. About a third of older people with peptic ulcers have no symptoms. Complications may include bleeding, perforation, and blockage of the stomach. Bleeding occurs in as many as 15% of cases.From Wikipedia — “Peptic ulcer disease”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Research & references

PubMed lists 12 peer-reviewed papers on this topic in camelids. The most relevant include:

  1. Abomasal and Third Compartment Ulcers in Ruminants and South American Camelids. Hund A, Wittek T The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 2018. PubMed 29276097 · DOI · cited 25×
  2. Third compartment ulcers in the llama. Smith BB, Pearson EG, Timm KI The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 1994. PubMed 7953964 · DOI · cited 26×
  3. Efficacy and pharmacokinetics of pantoprazole in alpacas. Smith GW, Davis JL, Smith SM et al. Journal of veterinary internal medicine, 2010. PubMed 20384953 · DOI · cited 15×
  4. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antiulcer agents in llama. Christensen JM, Limsakun T, Smith BB et al. Journal of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics, 2001. PubMed 11348484 · DOI · cited 11×
  5. Noninfectious diseases, metabolic diseases, toxicities, and neoplastic diseases of South American camelids. Smith JA The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 1989. PubMed 2647230 · DOI · cited 45×
  6. Severe anaemia secondary to a perforated gastric ulcer in a male alpaca. Wagener MG, Punsmann TM, Kleinschmidt S et al. Irish veterinary journal, 2023. PubMed 37689785 · DOI · Free full textOpen access · cited 1×

Frequently asked questions

What is stomach Ulcers (C3 Ulcers) in alpacas?
Ulcers in the third stomach compartment, often linked to stress and illness. They can perforate and cause fatal peritonitis.
What are the signs of stomach Ulcers (C3 Ulcers)?
Reduced appetite, picking at food, teeth grinding, mild colic, lying down more, dark feces (digested blood) and sudden death if an ulcer perforates.
How do you prevent stomach Ulcers (C3 Ulcers)?
Minimize stress. Forage-based diet. Use anti-inflammatory drugs only as prescribed.
Is stomach Ulcers (C3 Ulcers) an emergency?
Urgent — contact your vet today. Early treatment makes a big difference. Don't wait more than a day.

This page is educational and does not replace advice from a veterinarian who has examined your animals. Camelid medicine uses many drugs “extra-label”, so dosing must come from your vet. In an emergency, call your vet first. Read our disclaimer · How we write and review content.