Dreamcatcher Alpacas
Alpaca health · Nutritional & metabolic

Hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver) in Alpacas

Updated 2026-10-02By the Dreamcatcher Alpacas editorial team6 peer-reviewed references
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Emergency — call your vet now

This condition can kill within hours. Get veterinary help immediately.

A life-threatening liver condition that develops when an alpaca stops eating and mobilizes body fat — especially in late pregnancy, lactation or when overweight.

Category
Nutritional & metabolic
Urgency
Emergency
Also called
Fatty liver disease

Signs & symptoms

  • Not eating for more than 24-48 hours
  • Lethargy and isolation
  • Weight loss
  • Recumbency

Related symptom guides: Alpaca Not Eating, Lethargy & Lying Down a Lot.

What causes it?

Negative energy balance: any illness, stress, heat or pain that reduces feed intake for more than a day or two.

Risk factors

  • Late pregnancy and early lactation
  • Obese animals
  • Stress (transport, heat, new herd)
  • Concurrent disease

How vets diagnose it

Blood tests (bile acids, liver enzymes, ketones, fatty acids) and ultrasound.

Treatment

Aggressive vet treatment: IV fluids with dextrose, nutritional support, treatment of the underlying cause.

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

  • Treat any alpaca that stops eating as urgent
  • Keep body condition at 3 out of 5
  • Increase nutrition gradually in late pregnancy

Background

Fatty liver disease (FLD), also known as hepatic steatosis and steatotic liver disease (SLD), is a condition where excess fat builds up in the liver. Often there are no or few symptoms. Occasionally there may be tiredness or pain in the upper right side of the abdomen. Complications may include cirrhosis, liver cancer, and esophageal varices.From Wikipedia — “Fatty liver disease”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Research & references

PubMed lists 3,541 peer-reviewed papers on this topic in camelids. The most relevant include:

  1. Camelid cardiology. Margiocco ML, Scansen BA, Bonagura JD The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 2009. PubMed 19460649 · DOI · cited 20×
  2. Camelid wellness. Bennett MM, Richards NL The veterinary clinics of North America. Exotic animal practice, 2015. PubMed 25902272 · DOI · cited 3×
  3. A review of coccidiosis in South American camelids. Dubey JP Parasitology research, 2018. PubMed 29804192 · DOI · Free full textOpen access · cited 24×
  4. Update. Llama nutrition. Johnson LW The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 1994. PubMed 7953953 · DOI · cited 13×
  5. Encephalomyocarditis virus infection in alpacas. O'Connor TW, Finlaison DS, Manning LK et al. Australian veterinary journal, 2020. PubMed 32794196 · DOI · cited 2×
  6. Cladophialophora encephalitis in an alpaca. Balducci JJ, Barber RM, McHale BJ et al. The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne, 2020. PubMed 32020931 · cited 1×

Frequently asked questions

What is hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver) in alpacas?
A life-threatening liver condition that develops when an alpaca stops eating and mobilizes body fat — especially in late pregnancy, lactation or when overweight.
What are the signs of hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver)?
Not eating for more than 24-48 hours, lethargy and isolation, weight loss and recumbency.
How do you prevent hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver)?
Treat any alpaca that stops eating as urgent. Keep body condition at 3 out of 5. Increase nutrition gradually in late pregnancy.
Is hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver) an emergency?
Emergency — call your vet now. This condition can kill within hours. Get veterinary help immediately.

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.