Therefore, recommendations for prevention are difficult. Probably, the most significant factor in the prevention of liver disease is to prevent sustained stress. I have found that the most severe cases of liver disease have been in camelids suffering severe, long-term stress. An example would be a llama or alpaca that is acquired in Peru, moved to a quarantine station in Peru, examined and treated several times by veterinarians and animal handlers, moved to a quarantine station in the United States, moved to a farm for sale, sold at auction, moved to the farm of final destination, entered into a new herd to establish a new social hierarchy, and, finally entered into the breeding pool. These events occur over approximately 8 to 12 months.
Hepatic lipidosis is the most common consequence even in relatively thin animals.
A common misconception is that fatty liver disease is a disease of overweight camelids. I have found that these are the exception, not the rule. When I see fatty liver disease occurring in domestic camelids, I believe that the nutritional program should be intensively investigated. If the feed source has changed recently, a feed analysis is indicated to determine if the feed is low in digestible energy. The best indicator of the adequacy of the diet is to analyze mineral content in liver biopsies.