Hi X, I am not sure why your vet mentioned getting blood from the ferret's eye. That is done only for lab rodents. In ferrets you can get blood from the jugular vein in the neck (ie. just like a cat or dog) or from the ant. vena cava (ie just like pot-belly pigs). The book Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents by Hillyer and Quesenberry is an excellant book. There is a good description of how to get blood, complete with pictures. Hope that helps, Jerry Murray, DVM --- Yes, Dr Fox is a lab animal veterinarian. I do not see any mention of blood collection from the orbital venous plexus or sinuses in his second edition, but he did include it in his first edition (1988). There is also a small description in Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents in the small rodents section. This is a common technique for lab rodents, but I would not recommend it for pet ferrets! I also would not recommend using ketamine to sedate for blood sampling. Use SEVO or ISO to mask the ferret down. They will wake up very quickly, and it is much safer than ketamine. Hope that clears up the confusion, Jerry Murray, DVM [Sukie note: for jugular sticks we hold the ferrets and give them Ferretone from a small bottle and most don't act like they mind the stick then, though even those uncaring ones do sometimes object to the alcohol swab that comes before it.] [Posted in FML issue 3738]