Advice for gelding my camel

[camels]

I planned to geld my camel at 2 years old. I've been waiting to make sure he's gotten natural hormone growth, as it can be irregular if fixed sooner. He's a few months short of two now, and I have a vet that has done lots of llamas and alpacas that is going to geld him for me. Is there any advice you can give about the process that I can pass on to her? Thank you. I'd like to have him done before it starts getting cold, but naturally I'm worried for his well being. He is not very aggressive or bully now, but I know it's best to fix them unless you're breeding -- but will his personality change at all? I know in dogs they tend to get more lazy.

[ozcamelgirl]

I only have girls so haven't been through it, but I know that Glenda & Pete geld all their racing boys and they have amazingly successful racing camels in Australia, so I can't imagine laziness has been a problem for them. I'm pretty sure their rides camels are all gelded too.
I'm guessing he'll be a touch cranky for a while though!!;)
Sorry I can't help more. Good luck!
OCG

[Kameldame]

I think most importantly is that your vet knows the right dosage to sedate your camel. Camels are quite sensitive to Xylazine and they heart rate can slow down quite a lot. Your vet should have an assistant who monitors the heart rate throughout and ensures that he is fine. The castration itself can be performed similar to a llama. While sedated its easy to administer an antibiotic as prophylaxis. I prefer some longlasting products, so the animal does not need to be poked daily. Another important fact is that you ensure that your vet leaves the farm after he is up again and bright and alert. I know of people where the camel was left on its side and hours later it was dead. That might be an extreme, however it is good to know about some of the risks.
I dont think he will become lazy and fat. Most of the animals become lazy and fat because we feed them too much and dont exercise them enough....like my cat.....and may some are predisposed to a bit....;)

Oh...and its might be not a bad idea to hold him off food before his sedation (for 10-12 hours) so the risk of regurgitation and possible aspiration pneumonia is reduced.

Good luck!
:)

[camels]

Thanks for the information. I have a book that says not to geld until they are 4-5 years old. Is it going to matter at all? What is the book basing it on?

[3droms]

I don't actually have any experience with gelding. The following is from one of the books I own:-

Bulls are usually castrated between their fifth and eight year. It is unwise to castrate too young since it may reduce the size and strength of the male.

Thats all it says about it so I'm afraid I can't shed much light on it.

[camels]

I wonder if it effects them at all health wise. It doesn't bother me if he ends up on the smaller size because of decreased testosterone, or whatever. I worry about his bone development. I wish I could find out what's best.

[Kameldame]

Hi again,

most of the books come form the other continent where the camel is still used as a working animal and where people do not have them neccessarily as pets as we do in North America. I guess they want to wait until the camel reaches its full size to be able to use the bigger animal for their advantage (is stronger, can work harder). However, if you geld early it is saver for you and your family who is handling your friend. Just from that perspective I would castrate early with 1.5 - 2 years. When llamas get catstrated early they grow taller and are may not as broad as when they get catrated later in their life. However they do not develop any major issues due to the early castration. Most of the bone problems develop due to inadequate nutrition or deficiency in specific minerals or vitamins.
All the best and I wish you a great sunday!:)

[camels]

Thank you very much. He'll be two years old in January, and I'm planning to geld him in October. I'll go ahead with it then, his size is unimportant to me and I wouldn't mind if he were on a bit of the small size. Is it suggested to geld between 1.5-2 years because they retain some of their bull nature if gelded later? Do they start showing bullish behaviour before reaching sexual maturity at 4-5 years?