Not having actually performed any ferret surgeries myself yet, I
cannot speak to the difficulty of the surgery.  But I can say that I've
watched Dr. K. do I-don't-know-how-many, and also many cat and dog spays, and
I have to speculate (Dr. Williams is far better equipped than I to answer
this with accuracy) that a ferret spay is actually probably *easier* than a
dog spay because of where the uterus is and the fact that smaller animal
often equals smaller vessels and less bleeding.  If memory serves, the uterus
of a cat and ferret are placed similarly, and because ferrets are smaller,
they often use less anesthesia.  It's been my observation that what you are
often paying for when ferret procedures are more costly than dog/cat is the
expertise of the surgeon compared to those who have never touched a ferret.
You're often also paying for the equipment the practice owns -- i.e. if it's
a fancy place with endoscope, ultrasound, and other neat diagnostic stuff,
you may be paying more to help the practice pay for it.  *But* the upside to
that is that if your ferret (or other animal) gets very sick and it's hard to
figure out what's wrong, the vet has more s/he can do to solve the mystery.
Because of all the variables, it's hard to say what's fair.  My only strong
opinion is that I disagree with exhorbantly increased fees in the name of
`exotic expertise'.  It's important to make knowledge/expertise worth
something, but not more than a client can reasonably afford.  Just my $.02.
 
 
Laura
 
Laura L'Heureux Kupkee
U. of Illinois Vet Med Class of `96
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[Posted in FML issue 1012]