Dreamcatcher Alpacas
Alpaca health · Skin & fleece

Zinc-Responsive Dermatosis in Alpacas

Updated 2026-10-02By the Dreamcatcher Alpacas editorial team6 peer-reviewed references
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Book a vet visit soon

Not usually an emergency, but it needs a diagnosis and a plan.

A crusting skin condition — mainly around the eyes, nose, ears, belly and inner thighs — that improves with zinc supplementation.

Category
Skin & fleece
Urgency
Book a vet visit soon
Also called
Hyperkeratosis, Zinc deficiency

Signs & symptoms

  • Thick grey crusts and scaling on the face, ears, inner legs and belly
  • Hair loss in affected areas
  • Little or mild itching
  • Often starts in young adults

Related symptom guides: Fleece Loss & Itching, Crusty Nose, Eyes or Ears.

What causes it?

Relative zinc deficiency or an inherited problem with zinc absorption; high calcium or phytate intake may reduce zinc uptake.

Risk factors

  • Diets high in calcium (heavy alfalfa)
  • Possible genetic predisposition
  • Dark-fleeced animals in some reports

How vets diagnose it

Ruling out mange and fungal infection with skin scrapings and culture; skin biopsy; response to zinc treatment.

Treatment

Oral zinc supplementation for several weeks to months as directed by your vet; topical care for crusts.

Prevention

  • Use a camelid mineral with adequate zinc
  • Avoid excessive calcium

Background

Zinc deficiency is defined either as insufficient body levels of zinc to meet the needs of the body, or as a zinc blood level below the normal range. However, since a decrease in blood concentration is detectable only after long-term or severe depletion, blood levels of zinc are not a reliable biomarker for zinc status. Common symptoms include increased rates of diarrhea. Zinc deficiency affects the skin and gastrointestinal tract; brain and central nervous system, immune, skeletal, and reproductive systems.From Wikipedia — “Zinc deficiency”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Research & references

PubMed lists 4,530 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. Llama dermatology. Rosychuk RA The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 1994. PubMed 7953956 · DOI · cited 12×
  3. Llama dermatology. Rosychuk RA The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food animal practice, 1989. PubMed 2647233 · DOI · cited 12×
  4. Camelid wellness. Bennett MM, Richards NL The veterinary clinics of North America. Exotic animal practice, 2015. PubMed 25902272 · DOI · cited 3×
  5. Hematology of camelids. Vap L, Bohn AA The veterinary clinics of North America. Exotic animal practice, 2015. PubMed 25421025 · DOI · cited 15×
  6. Llama DNA Immunization and Isolation of Functional Single-Domain Antibody Binders. Trempe F, Rossotti MA, Maqbool T et al. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2022. PubMed 35157268 · DOI · cited 7×

Frequently asked questions

What is zinc-Responsive Dermatosis in alpacas?
A crusting skin condition — mainly around the eyes, nose, ears, belly and inner thighs — that improves with zinc supplementation.
What are the signs of zinc-Responsive Dermatosis?
Thick grey crusts and scaling on the face, ears, inner legs and belly, hair loss in affected areas, little or mild itching and often starts in young adults.
How do you prevent zinc-Responsive Dermatosis?
Use a camelid mineral with adequate zinc. Avoid excessive calcium.
Is zinc-Responsive Dermatosis an emergency?
Book a vet visit soon. Not usually an emergency, but it needs a diagnosis and a plan.

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.