Have also read of pets getting giardia and other problems from aquarium water and from puddles. I know there's at least one British ferret med text, too, but don't have such titles. Perhaps someone else will post those. The following webpages include sections written by vets on a range of ferret health topics: 1. http://www.ferretcentral.org 2. http://www.afip.org/ferrets 3. http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc 4. http://www1.btwebworld.com/beechhouse/ferrets.htm I know that there is one by Charlie Weiss but I haven't had a chance to go there, yet, and I can't get a socket on my server as I am writing this, so either I'll remember to try again before or after ( :-) ) this is sent. I think it should be under something like ferretdoctor.com or some configuration thereof. Expect that you can link to it from some of the others, too. Here are the veterinary texts we have by vets which deal specifically with ferrets: 1999, _Essentials of Ferrets, a Guide for Practitioners_, Karen Purcell, AAHA, (1-800-252-2242) 1998, _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret_, James G. Fox, Williams and Wilkins, (1-800-447-8438) 1997, _Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents, Elizabeth Hillyer and Katherine Quesenberry, Saunders, (Curtis Center, Independence Sq. W., Philadelphia, PA 19106) In Britain and Japan your vets will find the webpage texts that you find useful, may wan to find some of the books, and may well be interested in buying the video which Charlie Weiss has that show diagnostic and surgical techniques, procedures, appearances, etc. for common ferret medical problems. Meercats: Relatives? Depends on the relative distance. They are related as cats are related to dogs, or as we are related to baboons. Keep picking cucumbers or Father gets sore! (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species) They are both in order Carnivora just like cats, dogs, bears, raccoons, etc. They are NOT in the same Family and don't seem to have the same closer relatives within the order. They developed in different areas filling similar niches so have similar forms. Ferrets are mustelids, but meerkats are viverids. (And let's not trust my spelling today, okay?) There seems to be a lack of understanding of what necropsy is. Hadn't expected that. It's like an autopsy is for people. A qualified medical practitioner (for a ferret this would be a vet) studies the cadaver to see anything which may be diagnostic, or anything suspicious enough to also send on to the veterinary pathologist for microscopic and other study. THIS IS AN INTENSIVE AND PRECISE EXAMINATION BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS WITH THE GOAL OF FINDING CAUSES OF ILLNESS AND DEATH -- as such it can help stop a potential epidemic before it starts, or halt one along the way by helping find the cause and hence the most potentially effective treatments, or help save other ferrets in the same household. It is ***NOT*** the same as sending a cadaver to a person who is NOT a veterinary professional to look at teeth. I never realized that people didn't know what a necropsy is; sorry about not realizing that. Oh, and Anne's right, I think; I think there are special rules for sending remains. There were back when we had stuff exchanged and I know our vets take special precautions. (In relation to research: the results are only as good as the background (education -- self and formal -- and experience), preparation, equipment, procedures, techniques, math, experiment design, etc. Those who haven't read what exists, haven't studied the topic, haven't got the level of equipment needed, etc. for their chosen project simply CAN'T do reputable research, but they can do garbage which throws people off-track for an extended period if it gets too much attention. Think cold fusion... Oh, and we have also given skeletal remains for a comparative study because the deceased individual had been on the edge of survivability throughout life so was very useful. As with the veterinary donations we were CAREFUL about the qualifications and affiliations beforehand.) Hope you know now what a necropsy is and isn't. Sorry you didn't understand before. [Posted in FML issue 2940]