Brett Middleton, a geneticist on the FHL, provided the following review
in the FHL:
 
Some of you may not be aware of this recent book, but many of you will
find it a welcome addition to your bookshelves:
 
     Ferret Husbandry, Medicine and Surgery
     John Henry H. Lewington
     ISBN 0750642513, Butterworth-Heinemann, October 2000
     Paperback, 316 pp.
     $75.00 from barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com
 
Dr. Lewington is an Australian vet, but he has put a great deal of effort
into covering husbandry practices, diseases and treatments from around the
globe, including Australia, New Zealand, England, Europe and the USA.  This
is a wonderful source of comparative information for those who question the
feeding and housing practices that are typically found in the US.
 
Style-wise, this book falls between Dr. Purcell's very concise handbook and
Dr. Fox's dense academic treatment.  (For example, the chapter on ferret
anatomy is actually "Fox lite": a less detailed version of the anatomy
chapter in Fox, using many of the same figures.) The book is profusely
illustrated, and is well-seasoned with clinical examples from the
experience of the author and his correspondents.  You will, of course, have
to put up with Aussie-isms ("poops" = "scats"), archaic spellings that are
out of fashion here (faeces, oetiology), and other un-Americanisms (colour,
programme).  B-)
 
The first section of the book, covering husbandry, will probably be of the
greatest interest to the non-veterinarian.  The section begins with the
chapter on anatomy and ends with a chapter on handling ferrets in the
clinic, but the meat is in the three central chapters on housing, nutrition
and reproduction.  In many ways this section is a good start on the
advanced husbandry book for which I've been wishing, and I would willingly
have paid the full price of the book for either the housing or the
nutrition chapter alone.
 
The housing chapter surveys both indoor and outdoor housing methods,
highlighting many factors to be considered in the design of cages and
hutches, the selection of bedding, etc.  The bulk of the chapter, however,
is devoted to the design of the author's own free-range fuzzy garden, which
includes numerous above- and below-ground shelters, ferret mazes, ponds,
etc.  This was can't-put-it-down reading for me.  (If I didn't live in an
apartment, I wouldn't be writing this -- I'd be down at Home Depot buying
construction supplies!  B-)
 
The nutrition chapter covers both the commercial kibble diets typically
used in the US, and non-commercial meat diets typically used elsewhere
in the world.  Regarding US diets, Lewington reproduces much of the
nutritional data previously published elsewhere by Dr. Judith Bell, along
with information obtained from other experts, such as Dr. Tom Willard
of Performance Foods.  This includes detailed information on the
vitamin/mineral content of several popular kibbles.  Unfortunately, there
is little, if any, discussion of a dietary role for insects, live/frozen
mice, and other tid-bits used by some to simulate a more natural diet.
 
I think I'll leave the critique of the reproduction chapter to the breeders
among us, except to register my disappointment with the material on
genetics.  This consists of a few paragraphs noting the neotenous nature
of the domesticated ferret and recommending that breeders set a priority
on health and temperament in their selection programs.
 
Likewise I'll leave the sections on medicine and surgery to the vets
for comment.  The non-vets, however, will likely be interested in the
information on the relative prevalence of various medical problems (ECE,
ADV, neoplasms, etc.) in different parts of the world, and the possible
relationship to husbandry practices.
 
Overall, I'd have to say that this book deserves a place on the essential
bookshelf of the intermediate-to-advanced ferret enthusiast.  For those on
a budget, I'd certainly place it on the to-buy list ahead of Fox, since it
contains a great deal more information with immediate practical use.  (And,
for most of us, the fuzzy garden is LOTS more fun to read about than any of
Fox's topics.  B-)
 
Brett
 
*SLMW 1.0*  "What a fine day ... for SCIENCE!" -- Dexter
[Posted in FML issue 3356]