Hi all, Well, it finally happened. I suppose that I was under the impression that some things only happen to others and could never happen to one of my babies. Well, was I ever wrong. I am referring to vaccination reaction. I took Merlin in Saturday for his yearly distemper booster and he had a severe reaction to it. Before the shot, the vet had commented on his energy level and alertness, after the shot, Merlin was throwing up, had diarrea, extremely lethargic and his tail was fully bottle-brushed. He had gone from being 110% ferret to bean bag all in the space of five minutes. Dr Zehr stated that Merlin was the first ferret that he had ever treated that had had a reaction to the vaccine. He also stated that since the reaction was so severe that he recommended that he not receive another booster, that he should be safe as long as I don't bring in any new animals, don't have any animals that go outside, or go to any shows. He said that on the other hand, distemper is fatal and that if I chose to risk having him vaccinated in the future, that we would need to take him early in the morning, leave him, and they would administer an anti-inflamatory drug prior to the shot itself and they would monitor him for the remainder of the day. Talk about the choices I have here!! I realize that I have a year in which to come to a decision, but I would like to get some input from some of the veterinarians. Which risk is greater?--the vaccination or lack of. I want to do what is best for Merlin, but I don't want to expose him to distemper nor do I wish to risk his life by having the vaccination administered to him. This is a hard call to make. Thank you for any input and advice. A ferret friend Margaret Ann and her babies: Princess, Gismo, Harley, Scooter, Coco, Merlin, Rusty, Fancy and Daisy, and of course, Scott [Posted in FML issue 1858]