Q: "I liked the vet book you recommended. Do you know of one that is at a
higher level of instruction?"
 
A: Would that be the BS level or as high as a man of letters can climb?
 
A very useful book for serious ferrets owners would be:
 
Susan A. Brown and Karen L. Rosenthal  1997  "Self-Assessment Color Review
of Small Mammals." Iowa State University Press; Ames. ISBN 0-8138-2092-8
Cost: about $30 or slightly less.
 
This book is meant for vets, probably those just finishing school and taking
boards.  It actually covers a large number of animals, ranging from
hedgehogs to monkeys, but there is a good amount of ferret stuff as well.
Keep in mind *most* of the stuff is applicable to ferrets; for example, a
page may discuss a broken femur in a hamster, but the same technique would
be suitable for most small mammals, including ferrets.
 
The book is designed as a long test.  On one page is a couple of questions,
often with a color photograph or x-ray, and on the next page are the
answers.  So this isn't something very useful for emergency needs, but is
can be quite helpful in preparing the ferret owner in the long run.
 
I hesitated somewhat before I gave this reference because I was afraid
someone might read the book and decide they knew as much as a vet.  It ain't
gonna happen, my friend.  It takes years of study to understand anatomical
relationships, physiology, biochemistry and medicine, and reading one or two
books does not provide for that educational experience.  Someone said I must
have been a ferret because I know all the bones and stuff; I know the bones
because I've picked up and looked at tens of thousands of them and even us
dumb guys can catch on after a while.  Vet medicine is not any different;
the longer you do it, the better you get.  Well, most people; some never
learn.
 
What this book will give you is the knowledge to come up with a few ideas of
what might be wrong, PLUS you have some outstanding picturess to look at to
help you in that road to discovery.  Never seen an enlarged vulva?  How
about a mast cell tumor?  An x-ray of a ferret after eating a rubberband?
Crusty footpads caused by distemper?  Hey, got good pictures of them in this
book.  Some of the pictures are *NOT* for the squemish, so if you don't like
seeing innards or really sad stuff, don't even crack open the jacket and go
inside.  Its not a dinner book.
 
If you get the book, you can do what I've done.  Put this book, along with
Fox's and Hillyer's books, Pam Greene's Ferret FAQs, and whatever articles
you find about ferret illnesses, into a nice plastic filebox and take it
with you when you visit the vet.  Not all vets have the references,
sometimes because they can't find them, they may be just starting out, or
they just don't see enough ferrets to justify the effort.  When I visit a
vet I've never met before, I take the files with me and *BEFORE* the ferret
is examined, I mention I have the references and offer them for their use.
I never want the vet to think I'm testing them, or think I know more than
they do.  I just let them know my level of expertise, my experince, and that
I have an outstanding ferret library they can use at any time.  What I
*DON'T* do is wait for the vet to tell me that they think is wrong, then
show them the books, because it is a veiled suggestion that you think their
diagnoses are suspect.  Not all vets may appreciate your "help" if done this
way.
 
Using my low-key approach, you should find most vets open and supportive of
the files.  My vet gives me stuff to put in the box (like drug circulars,
articles on ferret treatments, etc) and I do the same for him.  I try to
show him something new each time I go in, and he tries to find something I
haven't seen.  (Like he can).  Everyone wins.  And it's a good investment as
well, once you consider you could have all three of the ferret vet books for
less than $150, which is about the price of a new ferret, and a vet checkup.
A *very* good investment.
 
Oh, notice that even though I know anatomy and physiology quite well (I've
*taught* anatomy at the college level), have the books, and can do the
dance, I *STILL* take my ferrets to the vet?  That's because, despite my
knowledge, *I AM NOT* a vet.  I don't try to be a vet; that's what I pay
them the big bucks for.  But I don't act like Igor either, saying "Yes
master..." to everything my vet says.  My goal is for the two of us to
become a health management team to protect my ferrets.  "Team" means working
together.  Become *partners* with your vet and the ferrets will sing your
praises for years to come.
 
Now for something completely different.  Anyone have the After Dark 4.0 CD?
It has a screensaver called "Shadow Agents" and I swear the characters are
ferrets.  (I actually think they are weasels, but on *my* Mac, they are
ferrets.  Ferrets, I tell you!  Ferrets!) Well, I ripped apart "Bad Dog" and
am in the process of replacing the cartoon graphics with pictures of a
ferret instead of the puppy, and the barking and growling with ferret
noises.  I'm doing it in my spare time, so you know how long that will
take.....
 
Bob C and 20 MO Bookoholics
[Posted in FML issue 2187]