<http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jul/28/prescription-for-pocket-pets/>

Many people here already know that this specialization has begun and
that a handful of vet have gone for the qualification and gotten it
thus far:

QUOTE
>Two years ago, the AVMA executive board, aware of the teeny trend,
>gave provisional recognition to a specialty called Exotic Companion
>Mammal.
END QUOTE

It requires at least one journal paper on the topic, passing an exam,
etc.

This year their conference also remembers small pets:
QUOTE
>So at the upcoming American Veterinary Medical Association conference
>in Atlanta (July 31 to Aug. 3), veterinarians will have a chance for
>some hands-on training in treating tiny pets.
END QUOTE

The paper also writes:
QUOTE
>An estimated 2 million pet rabbits, 1.2 million hamsters, 1.1 million
>ferrets and a million guinea pigs are changing the pet picture in the
>United States.
END QUOTE
and I suspect that this ferret estimate is very low unless a lot
fewer people now have ferrets (perhaps because some people just follow
trends, if so). Years ago -- I'd have to look it up but lack time-- the
estimate was several times more ferrets than mentioned here, and that
same year Ken Wells of the Wall Street Journal on the Leonard Lopate
radio show estimated that about 3 Billion (with a "B") dollars was
spent each year in the U.S. on ferret care of about $32,000,000,000
spent annually in the U.S. on pet care in general (another billion
figure). If that care figure is no lower then it would be hard to
imagine since that would be about $3,000 spent per average ferret every
year. When the radio show was done the estimate was that about $600
was spent each year on average for a ferret. (Of course, there are bad
years that a given ferret will cost thousands, especially in veterinary
needs, but the typical ferret does not cost $3,000 each year. So,
either the demand for ferret care and ferret supplies is decreasing or
the above lower estimate of the number of ferrets just not make sense.)

Obviously, the exotic specialization makes sense and I am glad to see
that the AVMA is covering these companion animals more in conference.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 6773]