Coffee seems to have had a rather delayed reaction to her rabies shot. She didn't have the full scale reaction, but rather the shot irritated the flesh around the puncture and she gradually grew a very sore lump over the course of a week. Dr. Bock (our vet and the guy who takes care of most of Ferrets, Etc's stuff as well) prescribed an anti-inflammatory and hot packing until it goes away. The question is, is there a way to prevent this reaction the next time she needs a shot? [As for the pills, the little minx figured out that she just needed to place her tongue on the roof of her mouth and she wouldn't have to swallow it, after ONE pill. *sigh* Why do I have them as pets again? Just kidding :)] Daphne (our recently acquired, half-starved little baby) is already gaining weight, after three days!! Her bones are still very prominent, but her tummy is feeling much rounder. She's already getting attached to us and she, Coffee, and Taz all adore each other. Of course, here we go again with little box training. :) We think she needs her eight week distemper shot, but we (with advice from Stephanie, the president of Ferrets, Etc) have decided to wait until next weekend until she has gained some weight -- so the shot won't make her sick. As for pet stores, you basically need to shop around (so to speak) to find a good one. The one I work for hires mostly animal hobbyists -- people who know about their animals and are more concerned with animal welfare than profits. I have talked quite a few people who have small animals into buying cheaper bedding (pine or aspen) rather than the more expensive and more dangerous cedar). Jill often teaches people how to switch their birds to pelleted food and so on. I'm the local small animal expert (I breed gerbils) and the only one in the store with a lot of ferret knowledge, so I pass on a lot of ferret information to employees and customers alike. You need to look around to find such places. Michelle -- [log in to unmask] Meet my pets. The ferrets (Taz, Coffee, and Daphne), the gerbils (lots), the zebra mouse (Racer), the rats (Timmy and Sue), and the fish (various). [Posted in FML issue 1145]