Vaccinations are very important BUT you must know a few facts about vaccines BEFORE using them for an absolute prophylactic measure. Let me explain, Most vaccines (if not all) have expiration dates , out of date vaccines can give you a false sense of security and the animal will not be able to build antibodies correctly thus leaving your animal unprotected against the very disease you had them vaccinated for. Online medications and are also suspect, you don't know what you are getting , the medication could have been diluted, or they too could be out of date. Some vaccines and medications need to be refrigerated, if they are left out for a while it could render the product useless. Some vaccines and medications need to be kept out of light and stored in a dry place this too could have ruined the products effectiveness. What are the solutions to insure that your animals are being protected or are receiving effective medications, well it mostly counts on your observations and the questions you ask. Don't use Vets that seem suspect I.E.. they don't ask you many questions about your animals , what they are fed , where are the animals kept , are they exposed to other animals and generally attempt to get as much information as possible in diagnosing your animal even if it's not the first time you visited his/her's office. Next, does the office look clean and well kept? don't just look at the floor, look into the corners and edges is there dirt or crud build-up, this can show there level of detail they take to insure their facility is as safe as possible. This might sound "anal retentive" but you need to be aware. When vaccinating ask to see the bottle and check the date, a good vet would actually recognize that you are a GOOD owner and your sense of awareness and concern. NEVER BUY ANY MEDS ON-LINE PERIOD!! Even a flea control medication could be out of date or tampered with, spend the extra bucks and ask your vet for your medications. Once you find a GOOD Vet stay with them. Sounds simple enough and it is. My Vet takes great joy in seeing my ferrets. He usually brings in new vet Tec's and shows them the ferret and most are very interested in seeing a live ferret as they don't get a chance to see them in school . It's funny top see them pick up my ferrets as if they are snakes and within minutes they realize that they are very gentle and are not biting, savage beasts. My vet has taken a true liking to our huge male Zeus who is so nice and is a big wholly bear that like new people and will sit still for any examination. Well that's my 2 cents worth of advice, I hope this helps some ferret owners in their understanding of medications and vaccines , now everyone give their fuzzies a big huge ,,,,, Mark Bethke [Posted in FML issue 4109]