i have llamas. one of them, Perl, developed an ear infection just before (American) Thanksgiving, which caused her to be very dizzy. so she's been 'down' since then. after 10 days of antibiotics & vitamin B1 treatment her infection is cleared up, but she isn't able to get up or stand on her own. we're working with her, using a sling to hoist her to standing & doing some range of motion exercises on her legs. it's a long process. so, at the same time, we contracted to have a barn built, which meant that we had to take down the shed that we were keeping Perl in & Perl was moved (sled ride!) over to the reduced winter pasture with the other llamas. she has a 'temporary shelter consisting of 3 4' high walls & a frame holding a pulley to help lift her & to support a tarp to keep most of the snow off (we've had 3' of snow so far this month). then my Malamute broke his collar last Thursday... so, Perl has chewed up ears & a big wound on the top of her head. amazingly this has not affected her usual sweet & tolerant temperment. so, to the project: because treatment for the wounds requires many soakings per day with hot water, & because it's very cold here (lower 20s to subzero, except today which is supposed to get to the 40s), i'm worried about frostbite on the wet ears. she *doesn't need* any more problems! the project is llama earwarmers. socks didn't work, she just shakes them off. i'm thinking polar fleece, because it is warm & somewhat water repellant, but i'm not sure if the fuzziness might stick to the wounds. should i line them & if so, with what? i'll attach ties to go to her halter, so they won't shake off. and is it really sick to put tassels on the tips? my SO thinks so... but the polar fleece i have on hand is bright yellow, so tassels can't make it worse.... lee
- posted
16 years ago