This article is from the WSSF 2016 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Jozzette Hagemann

Written by Carol Himsel Daly, D.V.M., and Sharon Vanderlip, D.V.M.
Copyright 2013, 96 pages
Published by Barron’s, New York.
ISBN 978-0-7641-4745-6

This book was a disappointment. This seemed to be written more for kids. The information is not complete nor in depth. It also does not explain or give the reasoning behind things. For example, in the external parasites section it does not list mites which can be common, but lists fleas which are not. For signs of illness it gives basic info only. In the upper respiratory area it only lists pneumonia and mycoplasma, but not other things like SDAV, etc., which are common in pet shop stock. In the breeding section there is a paragraph on sexing but no pictures to give a visual comparison which is important. There is also a whole section on various forms of ID including microchipping but a person with only a couple pets would not need this information. There are only two sentences on litter box training which is something a lot of pet owner’s might want to do. The section on bedding is just basic. In the part on different types of rats it lists 4 varieties and 6 coat types, of which two are not recognized in any club. In the back under Information, AFRMA is not listed, which is the oldest club in the U.S.

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