Dreamcatcher Alpacas
Alpaca health · Cria (newborn) problems

Hypothermia & Weak Cria in Alpacas

Updated 2026-10-02By the Dreamcatcher Alpacas editorial team3 peer-reviewed references
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Emergency — call your vet now

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

Newborn crias cannot regulate temperature well; cold, wet weather and weak crias are a dangerous combination.

Category
Cria (newborn) problems
Urgency
Emergency

Signs & symptoms

  • Body temperature below 99°F (37.2°C)
  • Cold mouth and legs
  • Weak, not standing or nursing
  • Lethargy

Related symptom guides: Low Temperature, Cria Not Nursing.

What causes it?

Birth in cold or wet weather, prematurity, failure to nurse, low birth weight.

Risk factors

  • Births late in the day or in cold seasons
  • Premature crias
  • Small or weak crias

How vets diagnose it

Rectal temperature.

Treatment

Warm gradually (warm room, blankets, warm-water bottles not touching skin), then feed warm colostrum; call your vet if the cria does not respond quickly.

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

  • Plan births for mild seasons
  • Use cria coats in cold weather
  • Check crias' temperatures in the first hours

Background

Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe hypothermia, there may be hallucinations and paradoxical undressing, the victim's self-removal of their own clothing, as well as an increased risk of the heart's stopping.From Wikipedia — “Hypothermia”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Research & references

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

  1. Culture-positive sepsis in neonatal camelids: 21 cases. Dolente BA, Lindborg S, Palmer JE et al. Journal of veterinary internal medicine, 2007. PubMed 17552461 · DOI · cited 23×
  2. Neonatal diseases in llamas and alpacas. Whitehead CE The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 2009. PubMed 19460646 · DOI · Free full textOpen access · cited 17×
  3. Investigation of neonatal disorders in New World camelids and factors associated with death during and after hospitalization of affected crias. Frank SL, Nelson BB, Simpson KM et al. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2021. PubMed 33825531 · DOI

Frequently asked questions

What is hypothermia & Weak Cria in alpacas?
Newborn crias cannot regulate temperature well; cold, wet weather and weak crias are a dangerous combination.
What are the signs of hypothermia & Weak Cria?
Body temperature below 99°f (37.2°c), cold mouth and legs, weak, not standing or nursing and lethargy.
How do you prevent hypothermia & Weak Cria?
Plan births for mild seasons. Use cria coats in cold weather. Check crias' temperatures in the first hours.
Is hypothermia & Weak Cria 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.