Not having actually performed any ferret surgeries myself yet, I cannot speak to the difficulty of the surgery. But I can say that I've watched Dr. K. do I-don't-know-how-many, and also many cat and dog spays, and I have to speculate (Dr. Williams is far better equipped than I to answer this with accuracy) that a ferret spay is actually probably *easier* than a dog spay because of where the uterus is and the fact that smaller animal often equals smaller vessels and less bleeding. If memory serves, the uterus of a cat and ferret are placed similarly, and because ferrets are smaller, they often use less anesthesia. It's been my observation that what you are often paying for when ferret procedures are more costly than dog/cat is the expertise of the surgeon compared to those who have never touched a ferret. You're often also paying for the equipment the practice owns -- i.e. if it's a fancy place with endoscope, ultrasound, and other neat diagnostic stuff, you may be paying more to help the practice pay for it. *But* the upside to that is that if your ferret (or other animal) gets very sick and it's hard to figure out what's wrong, the vet has more s/he can do to solve the mystery. Because of all the variables, it's hard to say what's fair. My only strong opinion is that I disagree with exhorbantly increased fees in the name of `exotic expertise'. It's important to make knowledge/expertise worth something, but not more than a client can reasonably afford. Just my $.02. Laura Laura L'Heureux Kupkee U. of Illinois Vet Med Class of `96 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1012]