Dreamcatcher Alpacas
Alpaca health · Breeding & birthing

Retained Placenta in Alpacas

Updated 2026-10-02By the Dreamcatcher Alpacas editorial team3 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.

Failure to pass the afterbirth within about 6 hours of birth; it can lead to uterine infection.

Category
Breeding & birthing
Urgency
Urgent

Signs & symptoms

  • Placenta still hanging or not seen 6 hours after birth
  • Foul discharge, fever and depression after 1-2 days

What causes it?

Dystocia, selenium/vitamin E deficiency, premature birth, infections, low calcium.

Risk factors

  • Difficult or assisted births
  • Selenium-deficient regions

How vets diagnose it

Observation and vaginal examination.

Treatment

Call your vet. Never pull on the membranes. Tie up hanging tissue so it is not stepped on.

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

  • Adequate selenium and vitamin E
  • Good birthing hygiene

Background

Retained placenta is a condition in which all or part of the placenta or membranes remain in the uterus during the third stage of labour. Retained placenta can be broadly divided into:failed separation of the placenta from the uterine lining placenta separated from the uterine lining but retained within the uterusFrom Wikipedia — “Retained placenta”, 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. Cesarean section in alpacas and llamas: 34 cases (1997-2010). Miller BA, Brounts SH, Anderson DE et al. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2013. PubMed 23402415 · DOI
  2. Treatment, survival and subsequent fertility following uterine torsion and dystocia in alpacas. Balasopoulou V, Meyerholz-Wohllebe M, Knoch S et al. Tierarztliche Praxis. Ausgabe G, Grosstiere/Nutztiere, 2026. PubMed 42030957 · DOI
  3. Peritonitis associated with passage of the placenta into the abdominal cavity in a llama. Bedford SJ, Hawes M, Paradis MR et al. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1996. PubMed 8944808 · cited 1×

Frequently asked questions

What is retained Placenta in alpacas?
Failure to pass the afterbirth within about 6 hours of birth; it can lead to uterine infection.
What are the signs of retained Placenta?
Placenta still hanging or not seen 6 hours after birth and foul discharge, fever and depression after 1-2 days.
How do you prevent retained Placenta?
Adequate selenium and vitamin E. Good birthing hygiene.
Is retained Placenta 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.