If you want to buy alpacas or llamas, you must first make it clear to yourself for what purpose you want to take the animal - either as a pet, for wool production or for animal breeding. In addition, you should familiarize yourself in advance with the characteristics, behavior patterns and needs of camelids.

Below we outline some basics to consider when adopting animals.

• To begin with, several animals of the same sex should be taken, because male and female alpacas are kept in separate herds. Alpacas cannot kept alone, because they are herd animals and so they can simply die of sadness.

• Krias (alpaca and llama babies) feed on their mother's milk for about half a year, so you cannot buy very young animals.

• Like other animals, alpacas and llamas also need daily care - shelter, hay, water and mineral feed.

• Alpacas must be sheared once a year (preferably in the spring) so that the animals have suitable living conditions and the wool retains its high-quality properties. If you have no previous experience with shearing, we recommend that you first invite a professional to learn from.