facial swelling

Happy new year everyone. Just wondered if anyone could give me advice regarding a strange facial "swelling" that one of our llamas has. Sometimes it would appear that one of the llamas has a lump on his cheek but it tends to come and go so we are thinking that it is just food caught there. Is this an indication that there might be something wrong with his back teeth or is it normal? Unfortunately he is not trained so no chance of getting hold of him to examine him but will call the vet in if deemed appropriate. He seems perfectly fine in himself and doesn't appear to have any trouble eating. We have only noticed this over the last two days or so. Thanks.

It sounds most likely that this is the llama chewing the cud. He'll regurgitate a 'parcel' of food from one stomach, chew it, and send it down to the next stomach. Perhaps the llamas have had access to a new food in the last few days requiring more obvious signs of chewing, but the fact that the lump comes and goes suggests it is food.
Even if he is older, it's worth spending time coaxing him (and your other llamas) to be approached and be haltered so you can examine them.
They will learn. They don't bite.

Thanks Robert for your reply. That has set my mind at rest. It just seemed a bit strange as we hadn't noticed it before, Normally they appear to be chewing the cud when they are sitting down somewhere but this was when he was actually eating his dinner. You are right about halter training and we have got the equipment to do it. Hopefully we can make progress soon. Thanks again. Best wishes Alison

We had a similar experience with one of our girls, it was actually the vet who noticed it whilst she was giving her an injection. As Robert suggested it turned out to be a food parcel! Vet massaged it away, or Bella merely swallowed it not sure which, but it disappeared, we've seen it a couple of times since, always check her out but always proves to be food!!

Thanks for sharing your experience Vicki. It's good to know that it is normal. We do make a point of watching our llamas feed etc and we had not noticed such a prominent lump before. We did feel that as it disappeared that it would probably not be anything to worry about but don't like to take chances where the boys are concerned.
Thanks again.

Hi Alison! I'm coming in a bit late with this one but as you have discovered it is only food! pure gluttony in fact! it mostly happens when they are eating from a bucket ... they are able to store food in their cheek and yet continue to stuff their mouths with feed. I got a fright the first time I saw this until I realised what was happening. They have an amazing ability to pack the food into the cheeks and then have an empty mouth. When chewing the cud the reguritated food goes straight to the mouth and not the cheek. If however, you find the swelling under the jaw then this will most certainly be a tooth abscess.

Hi Alison

We have just one out of 11 who seems to do this regularly. He seemed to start about 5 years ago (he is now aged 13) - either that or it was never so prominent. Nowadays, more often than not he has a pouch of food - we think it is a bit like a teenager who has to chew gum !!