Do Alpacas Spit?

One question I get asked all the time is “do they spit?” Well, the simple answer is yes!

But it is much more complex than a simple yes……

There are three, well, four levels of spit that I have identified in alpacas:-

1. Threat spit. Ears back, head up, very dirty look. (No actual spit, but if you aren’t careful, it’s coming!)

2. Air spit. (As it sounds, no content, just a warning really, almost a sneeze.)

3. Spit. (This contains whatever they happen to have in their mouth; breakfast, grass, leaves etc. not pleasant, but not the end of the world.)

4. Evil spit. (This delivers gut contents all over anything in reach. It is vile and soooo smelly a shower is the only cure, all clothes will need washing too!)

Luckily, if your alpacas feel safe and you are their leader, number 4 is very rare. I only really see it if I am cutting toenails or giving injections etc. Then it’s only the couple of girls who are still very shy.

1,2 and 3 are fairly common but mainly between themselves, usually over rights to food/hay/water etc. You sometimes get caught in the crossfire though. lol

So the answer is yes, they do spit, but not often at all and very rarely is it a problem.

The pictures are of two of the girls, Collette and Hera who got into a squabble over some carrot. The droopy lip is because it is vile to them too and Hera’s face proves she lost that round!