Q: "I liked the vet book you recommended. Do you know of one that is at a higher level of instruction?" A: Would that be the BS level or as high as a man of letters can climb? A very useful book for serious ferrets owners would be: Susan A. Brown and Karen L. Rosenthal 1997 "Self-Assessment Color Review of Small Mammals." Iowa State University Press; Ames. ISBN 0-8138-2092-8 Cost: about $30 or slightly less. This book is meant for vets, probably those just finishing school and taking boards. It actually covers a large number of animals, ranging from hedgehogs to monkeys, but there is a good amount of ferret stuff as well. Keep in mind *most* of the stuff is applicable to ferrets; for example, a page may discuss a broken femur in a hamster, but the same technique would be suitable for most small mammals, including ferrets. The book is designed as a long test. On one page is a couple of questions, often with a color photograph or x-ray, and on the next page are the answers. So this isn't something very useful for emergency needs, but is can be quite helpful in preparing the ferret owner in the long run. I hesitated somewhat before I gave this reference because I was afraid someone might read the book and decide they knew as much as a vet. It ain't gonna happen, my friend. It takes years of study to understand anatomical relationships, physiology, biochemistry and medicine, and reading one or two books does not provide for that educational experience. Someone said I must have been a ferret because I know all the bones and stuff; I know the bones because I've picked up and looked at tens of thousands of them and even us dumb guys can catch on after a while. Vet medicine is not any different; the longer you do it, the better you get. Well, most people; some never learn. What this book will give you is the knowledge to come up with a few ideas of what might be wrong, PLUS you have some outstanding picturess to look at to help you in that road to discovery. Never seen an enlarged vulva? How about a mast cell tumor? An x-ray of a ferret after eating a rubberband? Crusty footpads caused by distemper? Hey, got good pictures of them in this book. Some of the pictures are *NOT* for the squemish, so if you don't like seeing innards or really sad stuff, don't even crack open the jacket and go inside. Its not a dinner book. If you get the book, you can do what I've done. Put this book, along with Fox's and Hillyer's books, Pam Greene's Ferret FAQs, and whatever articles you find about ferret illnesses, into a nice plastic filebox and take it with you when you visit the vet. Not all vets have the references, sometimes because they can't find them, they may be just starting out, or they just don't see enough ferrets to justify the effort. When I visit a vet I've never met before, I take the files with me and *BEFORE* the ferret is examined, I mention I have the references and offer them for their use. I never want the vet to think I'm testing them, or think I know more than they do. I just let them know my level of expertise, my experince, and that I have an outstanding ferret library they can use at any time. What I *DON'T* do is wait for the vet to tell me that they think is wrong, then show them the books, because it is a veiled suggestion that you think their diagnoses are suspect. Not all vets may appreciate your "help" if done this way. Using my low-key approach, you should find most vets open and supportive of the files. My vet gives me stuff to put in the box (like drug circulars, articles on ferret treatments, etc) and I do the same for him. I try to show him something new each time I go in, and he tries to find something I haven't seen. (Like he can). Everyone wins. And it's a good investment as well, once you consider you could have all three of the ferret vet books for less than $150, which is about the price of a new ferret, and a vet checkup. A *very* good investment. Oh, notice that even though I know anatomy and physiology quite well (I've *taught* anatomy at the college level), have the books, and can do the dance, I *STILL* take my ferrets to the vet? That's because, despite my knowledge, *I AM NOT* a vet. I don't try to be a vet; that's what I pay them the big bucks for. But I don't act like Igor either, saying "Yes master..." to everything my vet says. My goal is for the two of us to become a health management team to protect my ferrets. "Team" means working together. Become *partners* with your vet and the ferrets will sing your praises for years to come. Now for something completely different. Anyone have the After Dark 4.0 CD? It has a screensaver called "Shadow Agents" and I swear the characters are ferrets. (I actually think they are weasels, but on *my* Mac, they are ferrets. Ferrets, I tell you! Ferrets!) Well, I ripped apart "Bad Dog" and am in the process of replacing the cartoon graphics with pictures of a ferret instead of the puppy, and the barking and growling with ferret noises. I'm doing it in my spare time, so you know how long that will take..... Bob C and 20 MO Bookoholics [Posted in FML issue 2187]