Dreamcatcher Alpacas
Alpaca health · Digestive problems

Urinary Stones (Urolithiasis) in Alpacas

Updated 2026-10-02By the Dreamcatcher Alpacas editorial team6 peer-reviewed references
!

Emergency — call your vet now

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

Mineral stones blocking the urethra, mostly in castrated males. A blocked male can die of bladder rupture within a day or two.

Category
Digestive problems
Urgency
Emergency
Also called
Urinary calculi, Water belly

Signs & symptoms

  • Straining to urinate with little or no urine
  • Dribbling, blood-tinged urine
  • Tail flagging and stretching
  • Colic
  • Swollen belly (if the bladder ruptures)

Related symptom guides: Lethargy & Lying Down a Lot, Constipation & Straining, Teeth Grinding, Rolling, Kicking at Belly (Colic Signs), Straining to Urinate, Red or Dark Urine.

What causes it?

High phosphorus diets (grain, bran), poor calcium-to-phosphorus balance, low water intake, and in some areas silica-rich forage.

Risk factors

  • Castrated males (especially if castrated young)
  • Grain-heavy diets
  • Low water intake in winter

How vets diagnose it

Ultrasound of the bladder and urethra; urinalysis.

Treatment

Emergency veterinary treatment — often surgery.

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

  • Keep calcium:phosphorus ratio at 1.5-2:1
  • Limit grain; avoid bran
  • Unlimited clean water, heated in winter
  • Delay castration until 18-24 months where practical

Background

Kidney stone disease or urinary stone disease is a crystallopathy that occurs when there is an excess of minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny crystals to aggregate and form hard masses, or calculi (stones), in the upper urinary tract. Because renal calculi typically form in the kidney, if small enough they may pass out of the urinary tract through the urine stream. A small calculus may pass without causing any symptoms. However, if a stone grows to more than 5 millimeters, it can cause blockage of the ureter, resulting in extremely sharp and severe pain in the lower back that often radiates to the groin. A calculus may also result in blood in the urine, vomiting, swelling of the kidney, or painful urination. About half of all people who have had a kidney stone are likely to develop another within ten years.From Wikipedia — “Kidney stone disease”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Research & references

PubMed lists 3,542 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. 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×
  6. Encephalomyocarditis virus infection in alpacas. O'Connor TW, Finlaison DS, Manning LK et al. Australian veterinary journal, 2020. PubMed 32794196 · DOI · cited 2×

Frequently asked questions

What is urinary Stones (Urolithiasis) in alpacas?
Mineral stones blocking the urethra, mostly in castrated males. A blocked male can die of bladder rupture within a day or two.
What are the signs of urinary Stones (Urolithiasis)?
Straining to urinate with little or no urine, dribbling, blood-tinged urine, tail flagging and stretching, colic and swollen belly (if the bladder ruptures).
How do you prevent urinary Stones (Urolithiasis)?
Keep calcium:phosphorus ratio at 1.5-2:1. Limit grain; avoid bran. Unlimited clean water, heated in winter.
Is urinary Stones (Urolithiasis) 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.