Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery

This book is the absolute best resource on the medicine of these species. The book is easy to follow and find specific information as necessary. Most illustrations are quite useful, although in black and white. The book is organized mostly by taxonomic groups. However, the book seems to repeat itself in some chapters as well as in different chapters, and sometimes, finding information may be indexed in more than one place only to find that they are all quite similar pieces of information. I HIGHLY reccomend this book, and its is the best amount of informtion at a very affordable price.

This book is a must if you practice exotic animal medicine, want to get started or you are a veterinarian that occasionally has one of these species come through your door. It has up to date information organized in a easy to read, easy to find format. It is written in a style that is informative but not boring and much of the information would be helpful to owners of these species as well.

I was mostly interested in the ferret information, since I own ferrets. I found the info to be very accurate, well-written and arranged in a clear and logical manner. I think this book would be useful not only to vets, but to the average ferret owner, too. It's very helpful to know what your vet is looking for during an examination, and to know the warning signs of various illnesses. It would also make a great gift for your favorite vet -- it's in your own best interests to make sure your vet is educated. Ferrets have very different requirements for care from the usual cat or dog. For example, not knowing that a ferret should be fasted no longer than 4 hours before surgery can make the difference between your ferret living or dying. The book has some terminology that the average pet owner might not understand, but if you look up the words you're not familiar with, you'll get the general meaning just fine. (Like alopecia [my spelling might be off] means hair loss.)

I'm so pleased with this book. Coincidentally, the day I bought it, one of my ferrets came down with a bad case of diarrhea and it was invaluable for helping me figure out what was wrong. I wouldn't suggest this book as an alternative to seeing a veterinarian, but it's a reassuring feeling when the drugs she prescribed my ferret were verbatim with what was listed in the text. This book is perfect for someone without a medical background, but would like to learn more about diseases and caring for ferrets. The book is designed for pet owners (rather than lab workers) for all the small furry creatures, and their veterinarians. I was impressed with the detail to health issues presented with the rodents as well. They make a point to address the concerns that may rise with them (such as breeding, handling, their living environment, and issues concerning them as pets for children). I urge any ferret, rabbit, guinea pig, rat, gerbil, hamster or mouse owner to consider buying this book.

Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents is written so that the information is understandable by the layperson but technical enough for the veterinarian. It covers everything from basic husbandry and vaccinations to common maladies such as heart disease, adrenal problems and insulinomas to more uncommon conditions such as Aleutian Disease. There are many photographs and tables to supplement the text. Especially helpful are figures which show radiographs depicting medical conditions such as megaesophagus and foreign body obstructions. The medical conditions have sections on the history of the disease in the ferret, physical exam, diagnosis, and treatment. This book is written about ferrets as pets and does not focus on laboratory animals or experiments, unlike other ferret reference manuals. It has 144 pages devoted exclusively to ferrets and another 74 pages of material on subjects like radiography, soft-tissue surgery, and formulary. Some of the photos may be unpleasant for the layperson but are necessary for understanding the medical condition.This book should be in every ferret owner's library. If you do not have a ferret "expert" for a veterinarian, buy a copy for your vet. If you have an after-hours ferret emergency, take it to the emergency clinic with you. It could save the life of your ferret!