Q: "Could you post the best books for the ferret owner? I want to get them for my vet..." A: Kinda like when Ensign Pulver cut into Burl Ives and left the marbles behind? You know, doing surgery reading a book? I really can't answer that for anyone but myself because I would have to know what was on their bookshelf or in their brain. So I will answer it for myself; that is, which books I find personally most valuable. Not in any particular order, here are Bob's Top Ten*: 1) James W. Carpenter, etal. 1996 "Exotic Animal Formulary." Greystone Publications, Manhattan, Kansas. [GOOD: lists just about every drug and proper dosage for ferrets, including some important comments. Also includes blood/serum/urine values, endocrine disease symptoms, references. BAD: Includes lots of stuff on fish, herps, and other mammals you don't really need UNLESS you are a vet.] 2) James G. Fox. 1988 "Biology and Diseases of the Ferret." Lea and Febiger; Philadelpia. [GOOD: Very comprehensive and broad. An oldie but a goodie with nice sections on ferret history and anatomy. BAD: Out of date and I believe out of print. A revised edition should be released soon.] 3) Elizabeth V. Hillyer and Katherine E. Quesenberry. 1997 "Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery." W. B. Saunders CO.; Philadelphia. [GOOD: Comprehensive and Complete, and up-to-date. BAD: Rabbits and Rodents.] 4) Chris C. Pinney. 1992 "The Illustrated Veterinary Guide for Cats, Birds, and Exotic Pets." McGraw Hill; New York. [GOOD: Outstanding all-around vet-guide, most of which can be used with ferrets. Very nice "identification-key" approach to diagnoses. BAD: Is-It-A-Weasel-Or -A-Mongoose? illustrations of ferrets. Could be an Egyptian heiroglyph. Needs more stuff specifically on ferrets.] 5) Geoffrey West. 1992 "Black's Veterinary Dictionary." B&N Import; New York. [GOOD: Outstanding dictionary; as good as Dorland's, Taber's or Stedman's Medical dictionaries. BAD: Costs about $100.] 6) D. C. Blood and Virginia P. Studdert. 1988 "Bailliere's Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary." Bailliere Tindall; London. [GOOD: Almost as good as Black's, I like the appendices a little better, lots cheaper (about $40) so it is the best value for the buck. BAD: Some definitions are tautological; Word A: see Word B. Word B: see Word C. Word C: see Word A. I hate getting led in circles. I hate getting led in circles. I hate getting led in circles.] 7) Susan A. Brown and Karen L. Rosenthal. 1997 "Self-Assessment Color Review of Small Mammals." Iowa State University Press; Ames, Iowa. [GOOD: Outstanding illustrations, teaches in a testing atmosphere. BAD: Needs to three times larger and only on ferrets. Also, the book is physically small; its hard to see the picture detail.] 8) David Klingener. 1979 "Laboratory anatomy of the mink." W. C. Brown; Dubuque, Iowa. [GOOD: You want basic anatomy and organ systems, this has it. BAD: Its about the mink, but that's ok, just type out lots of itty-bitty "ferrets" and paste them over the word "mink." At this basic level, there is very little difference.] 9) American Ferret Association. 1996/97 "The Eighth/Ninth Small Mammals Veterinary Conference." American Ferret Association, Inc.; Frederick, MD. [GOOD: Nice stuff with lots of up-to-date info. BAD: Adapted from papers, and not enough ferret stuff.] 10) David Pass, etal. 1993 "Veterinary Care of Birds, Rodents, Rabbits, Ferrets and Guinea Pigs." Publication No.2/93, Murdoch University Foundation for Continuing Veterinary Education. [GOOD: Nice style, compares USA to Australia. BAD: Just a drop in the bucket of stuff to know. I wanna know more about the Australian bloodlines, which Pass indicates was isolated since 1904-07.] BONUS: Edward Lytton Wheeler. 1886 "Tony Fox, the ferret, or, Boss Bob's boss job." Deadwood Dick library ; v. 3, no. 33, M. J. Ivers; New York. [GOOD: Catchy title; just like it. BAD: Just try to find a copy.] Bob C and 20 MO Bibliohounds. * These are not actually my personal top ten, but then "Ecological Methodology," "Nutritional Biochemistry," "Evolutionary Biology," "Hyman's Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy" and the like are probably not ferret-related enough. Too bad. [Posted in FML issue 2205]