5 comments about Bringing Up Ziggy: Lessons from a Helping Hands Monkey Mom.

1. BRINGING UP ZIGGY IS SUCH A DELIGHTFUL TALE, OR IN THIS CASE, IT COULD BE TAIL. THE HEROINE OF THE BOOK, ZIGGY, HAS A TAIL,THAT FUNCTIONS INDEPENDENTLY OF HER. THE STORY TAKES THE READER BY THE HEART AND LEADS THROUGH THE LIFE OF A BLACK CAP CAPUCHIN MONKEY-GIRL AND HER HUMAN FOSTER FAMILY. WHILE BEING A WONDERFULLY ENTERTAINING TRUE STORY, IT IS ALSO VERY EDUCATIONAL AND FACTUAL. HELPING HANDS MONKEYS ARE GIFTS FROM GOD TO PEOPLE WHO ARE QUADRIPLEGIC. FROM THE BIRTH OF THE BABY MONKEY TO THE TIME IT IS READY TO BE A HELPING HAND IS A FASCINATING AND MOVING TRIP. READ THIS BOOK AND PREPARE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THE CAMPBELLS AND THE LITTLE ZIGSTER.



2. Andrea Campbell's book, Bringing Up Ziggy, portrays a realistic and honest picture of life with a monkey, and the commitment needed to foster a primate for the Helping Hands program.

   Can you imagine living 30 years in a wheelchair unable to move your arms or legs? Quadriplegics can live an average lifespan of 60 to 65 years. Simple tasks such as getting a drink, or turning the pages of a book eludes them. Inspired by the Helping Hands program that breeds and trains capuchin monkeys to assist quadriplegics, and seeing first-hand the quality-of-life that a capuchin-assistant adds to a quadriplegic's life, Andrea Campbell became a foster-parent in 1989.

   The book supplies information on raising an infant capuchin, offers emotional details of dealing with the hierarchy of troop mentality within a family unit, and in general, is a study in animal behavior.

   Campbell's story is one of inspiration, love, and dedication. An entertaining, true adventure, "Bringing Up Ziggy," is sure to tug on the heartstrings of all who read it.




3. Andrea Campbell's book, Bringing Up Ziggy, is a heartwarming and inspiring book. Campbell describes rasing a monkey as a foster parent for the Helping Hands Program. The Helping Hands Program provides quadriplegics with trained monkeys to assist in their daily care. Campbell explains the love, commitment, and sacrifice needed. For most people, it would be hard to imagine such an undertaking or how amazing the amount of knowledge that a human can learn from an adorable capuchin.

   This book is one that the reader will not be able to put down once the reading has begun. Bringing Up Ziggy offers animal behavior facts, adventure, and comedy from cover to cover. Campbell shares her knowledge with the reader on living a life with a monkey in the home. The book tells about the rewards of being a foster parent in the Helping Hands Program.

   I would recommend this book to anyone considering adding a monkey to their household. Bringing Up Ziggy will help the readers to understand the love, commitment, and sacrifice that is needed in raising a monkey in the home. Most of all, the book will enlighten the reader to the richness, love and joy the monkeys bring to the people they live with.




4. This book presents refreshing insight into the dedication and commitment necessary to raise a non-human primate (a capuchin monkey) for the Helping Hands Program (a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for quadriplegic individuals by training capuchin monkeys to assist them with daily activities) located in Boston, MA. Ms Campbell relates her journey with Ziggy, a female capuchin monkey, from infancy adoption to adulthood. The delights of raising a baby, the trials of adolescence and the compassion needed to understand the intricacy of maturity are all described with comprehensive detail.

   The tantalizing prospect of living with one of our closet relatives is quickly dispelled as infant antics turn into potential difficulties. Each member of this family must learn their place in Ziggy's world. And, indeed, each member is quickly placed in a particular category, according to Ziggy's personal hierarchy. Ms Campbell weighs the pros and cons of having accepted the responsibility of foster caring this incredible creature. She holds back nothing in describing what it is like to share her home with a monkey. Controversy abounds in regards to some of the necessary procedures and Ms. Campbell presents them astutely. She interjects facts about these incredible creatures among the personal account of her life with Ziggy.

   The accomplishments of Ms. Campbell and her human family, in learning to understand who Ziggy is, along with Ziggy's own accomplishments, makes for an engaging narrative. Several black & white photos enhance this account of one woman's devotion to her diminutive charge and her beliefs in the benefits proposed by the Helping Hands Program. It is a must read for anyone who has contemplated life with a non-human primate. Having raised a capuchin monkey from infancy to adulthood myself, I can speak from experience and highly recommend this book.




5. Great job! Being a monkey owner myself (6 capuchins from age 3 up to 30) I found this book to be great! It tells of what a pet capuchin is capable of doing and Ziggy's goal is a great one! If my monkeys were as well behaved as Ziggy, maybe I could find time to write a book! Hahaha! You have done great with the book and Ziggy. The chapter about her attempts to escape from her cage sure did bring back memories! Thanks Andrea, this is a book that will remain in my monkey library. It was informative, easy to read and very descriptive of what it is like to be a monkeymom. I have told all my fellow monkey owners about it and my friends who raise Helping Hands monkeys.

3 comments about Hedgehogs (Complete Pet Owner's Manual).

1. I would not reccommend this book to anyone! A lot of the information was wrong and completely inaccurate!
   A good book to get about hedgehogs is The Hedgehog - An Owners Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet. Written by David Wrobel with Susan A. Brown, D.V.M.

   This book is filled with lots of helpful info!




2. I couldn't disagree with the previous reviewers anymore! This book is simply smashing, I mean how often does a chap come across a book about Hedgehogs, and then how often do you find a book with this much information. Really, a bang-up job! As for Cedar wood chips, I will have you know I have raised 5 consectutive hoggies on cedar beds, and they still chase my cat around the house like a whirling dervish. This book is smashing, and I would advise anyone interested in raising hoggies to read it.



3. I don't know where to start. This book recommends activities that I consider to be catastrophically bad for hedgehogs, like keeping them on cedar shavings, which can cause respiratory failure. I just can't recommend.

3 comments about Making the Most of Your Llama.

1. I didn't know much about llamas - just that they were cute and I liked them. I appreciated the information in this book, it has helped when I have visited llama farms and worked with these marvelous animals.



2. What a horrible book, I thought for the price it would be much much better. Do not waste your money. If you are looking for a good book about Llama's try "A Guide to Raising Llamas".



3. Making the Most of Your Llama does just that - advice on how to get started, how to keep them healthy, how to train on the trail and how to use the by products of the llama - babies, manure and wool! I have the first edition - this one is greatly improved and expanded.

No comments about The Guide to Owning a Sugar Glider (Re Series).

No comments about Nutrient Requirements of Small Ruminants: Sheep, Goats, Cervids, and New World Camelids (Animal Nutrition).

No comments about Bugs as Pets (Animal Planet Pet Care Library).

No comments about Tarantulas (Herpetocultural Library).

1 comments about Tarantulas (Success with an Invertebrate Pet).

1. My biggest problem was that it is billed as being a fairly recent release however I have Tinter's other book "Tarantulas Today: A Complete Authoritative Guide" and it is identical, page for page.
   
   So I was disappointed. The info is decent although some scientific names are old. Decent info all around. The pictures are quite nice.
   
   The older book is larger and might be the better one to buy, for that reason.

5 comments about Complete Guide to Ferrets.

1. I like to read many books on the same subject, because different authors may provide different information depending on when the books were written and where; finding this book, which was written more from a European perspective in ferret keeping, was a real gem!
   
   This is the main thing you must keep in mind when reading this book - do not critisize or discount it when comparing techniques and advice to American ferret keeping. As long as you are aware of this, you'll enjoy the book, as if provides a brief history of ferrets, housing, taming, first-aid, breeding, showing/racing and even genetics.
   
   I compare the way the author writes with passion to the well-known Green Tree Python breeder, Greg Maxwell. This isn't your typical ferret book in that it shows pictures of ferrets wearing sweaters, playing with toys, etc, but there are plenty of those to go around (I have quite a few of those on my shelf, too!) I really liked the sectons on 'working and hunting' since they certainly offer some insight to the subjects in America, where most people (myself included), were ignorant of much of the domestic ferret's first use as a small game hunter.
   
   Overall this book is very insightful and informative of ferrets; it should be a definite read for anyone who is open-minded and interested in ferrets, especially on a more international perspective.



2. I purchased both James McKay's books and two ferrets from Mr. McKay when I lived in England and know first hand he is the man in the know! This book is better than any other book out there (US or UK). It details proper husbandry techniques and practices. I find the UK method of modern ferret keeping superior to US, in most US homes the ferrets are kept by themselves in crampt cages; in this magnificent book it informs you of their gregarious nature and need for a somewhat large cage. GOOD WORK JAMES!



3. In "The Complete Guide to Ferrets," by James McKay, we're first treated with evidence of a big ego with such statements like, "The first historical mention of a ferret _that I can find_..." (emphasis added) as if he were the last word on ferret origins. This immediately raised the warning flags-big egos tend to carry misinformation. Which gets demonstrated within a few pages when we see how naive James McKay is about the ferret situation in the United States. Later we are treated to such "deeply informative" statements as "Treat with the utmost suspicion anyone trying to sell adult ferrets." Though there is some element of truth to the caution, typically, sweeping statements that aren't qualified also tend to ring false. I've seen many adult ferrets in shelters who are very nice animals that would make great pets. Indeed well-mannered 1- to 2-year-olds are often recommended for beginners for they tend to be easier to handle and train than kits. Another "winner" is "...there's no such thing as a bad ferret, simply too many bad owners of ferrets!" Nice quaint line, which again has some element of truth, but also lacks depth of insight in the range of behavioral tendencies that ferrets can attain. Breeders often seek ferrets that don't bite in pursuit of more docile offspring, just one of many indications that "badness" can stem from both parties. There are many other problems with this book-a tendency for leaden writing that isn't engaging, and some of his methods for raising ferrets seem barbaric, even if they work for him. The only reason that I even give this book two stars is because James McKay makes a good effort at the biological details of ferrets, including his Appendix I, "Ferret Facts and Figures" which would do well in any ferret book, and he lists a nice bibliography.



4. As the author of this book, I tried to leave the "ratings" field free, as I am obviously biased, but the system will not allow me to. However, the real reason for this "review" from myself is to correct the review from "A reader from central California", who obviously has never read my book! Firstly, this reader obviously believes that he knows a lot about ferrets, and yet cannot even get the specific name correct. He gives the name "Mustela furo", when, in fact, it is Mustela putorius furo. As he/she cannot get this proven scientific fact correct, readers would do well to give little or no credence to any of his remarks. He/she states that, in my book, I refer to ferrets as "vicious wild animals". Having written the book, and then re-read it looking specifically for this phrase, all I can find is my comment that "some would have us believe that ferrets are vicious, but those of us who really know this animal will know otherwise". Clearly, the Californian critic is misquoting me. In the book, I give much space to factual information on genetics, breeding, exhibiting/showing, racing and pet ferrets, and yet your correspondent states that I merely dismiss them as having no real value! As to my mixing up the species, I suggest that your correspondent remember the old saying that Brits and Yanks are "two nations separated by the same language". While to Americans a "turtle" is any chelonian, we Brits use three terms to separate them, viz (marine) turtles, (terrestrial) tortoises and (semi-aquatic) terrapins. Here in England (where we invented the English language) we NEVER use the term "ermine" for any animal, merely for the fur of the European stoat. True, many ferret owners (and I do not count myself among them), erroneously and confusingly do refer to polecat-coloured ferrets as "polecats", which the American fanciers refer to as "sable", a word which is actually the name of an arctic relative of the ferret - VERY confusing for those of us who speak English and have a zoological training. Here in the UK, pet ferret keepers DO keep their animals (ie ferrets) indoors, giving them free run of the human home. I am also informed by several US ferret keepers that the practice is fairly common in the US, too. My book was written specifically for the UK and European markets, in the same way as US books are written for the US market. Very few Brits would want to spend time, effort and money abusing their ferrets by dressing them in human style clothing, even though a US compnay is now trying to persuade us to do so. Ferret keeping in the US and in the UK are different. Consequently, our books are different. My book represents the best practices of this country, while one has to assume that US books do the same for the US market. I have always purchased and read every book on ferrets and ferreting that I can find, including American books. I read these foreign books not to learn about the UK ferret, but to learn about the way in which this little carnivore is thought of any treated in the US. I am not at all happy with many of the seemingly common US practices detailed in most US books, but have to shrug these concerns off as "cultural differences". I cannot reconcile the fact that California will allow its residents to legally own a wide range of firearms and many truly exotic animals, and yet ban the keeping of the domestic ferret. Perhaps readers should consider the fact that, here in the UK, we have not overbred our ferrets to the degree whereby we have developed many deleterious conditions in our stock; the Americans have. The average lifespan for a ferret in the UK is over ten years (many upto 14 years), while US veterinarian publications state that the average life expectancy for an American ferret is often less than half of that. That is obviously one reason why the US ferret fancy has had to import ferrets from all over the world, including many from myself.



5. James McKay's book is a refreshing change to the largely irrelevant fare from the US that we serious UK Ferreters have had to endure over recent years. Having searched high and low for a decent work of reference that answered the questions that I needed to resolve I was delighted to read Mr.McKay's book and felt that a fair assesment of it in the proper context was due.

   The guide itself is comprehensive and fascinating covering the following points within its pages:

   Origins of the Ferret, Selection of stock, Housing, Handling, Taming and Training, Feeding, Breeding, Working, Showing, Racing and Ferrest as Pets, Ailments and First Aid, Genetics.

   For me the book has been useful in helping me look after my Ferrets from the perspective of the individual who appreciates and respects the Ferret for not only its qualities as a companion but also their tenacious hunting skills.

   But the guide goes far beyond the basic use for which I have it, every time I refer to it I happen across more nuggets of information that are both fascinating and useful.

   It must be born in mind that the Ferret itself and the culture surrounding the Ferret in the UK are vastly different from that in the US. In the UK the Ferret has largely been associated with the working class and as a way of obtaining food, not as a play thing or merely a pet. Having stated this, Ferrets in the UK are enjoying something of a rise in popularity as pets and recent articles in the Media (Independent on Sunday, October, 98') estimate Ferret owners numbering 1.5 to 2 million in England alone.

   Mr.McKay's work deals with the husbandry of the Ferret to a degree the like of which I have never seen in any "pet guide book". Even going to the extent of covering the musculature and genetics of the animal, vital details for the serious breeder.

   As an owner of Ferrets who uses them to hunt both Rabbits and Rats, this work has proven invaluable. It must be born in mind that with the extremely tight controls over the use of firearms in the UK, the Ferret offers an extremely ecologically sound and effective way of controlling both Rabbits and Rats, pests which cause so much damage to British Farming. McKay's guide will take you comprehensivley through all that you need to know to work your Ferrets, for both your and their enjoyment.

   In the final analysis, if you are looking for a book covering the keeping of Ferrets as pets in the US, then this book is most likely not for you in my opinion. However if you're a British Ferret keeper, having them either as pets or working them, then I thouroughly commend this book to you.

5 comments about The Ferret: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.

1. must own very good book. glad that i bought this book. lots of colored pictures



2. I found this older book to be a good readable starting point in learning about the ferret. I highly suggest it for anyone thinking about adopting a ferret, since it gives you a very good picture of the care involved, including medical issues, ferret-proofing your home, the hopelessly curious nature of the ferret, and daily life with a ferret in general. The only real places it is lacking is in updated advances in veterinary care for certain diseases specific to the ferret, and also in legal issues since many things have changed over the past ten years on that front also. One negative issue, and I've seen this erroneous information in print many times in many places, is the book stating that the lifespan of the ferret is six to ten years. That is true in Europe where ferrets are largely bred in small operations. In the U.S., however, the lifespan is more like five to seven years. Also note that the book doesn't really stress the fact that the ferret is a social animal - not so much with humans as with other ferrets. Ferrets are happiest and most active when they live together in groups of two or three. A ferret will play with you, but don't expect the level of interaction and affection you would get from a cat or dog.



3. As a first time ferret owner, I bought this book. It was very helpful with tons of info. All thou not as impressive as the other ferret books, its good enough if your just starting out. You will find each book that is put out on ferrets to have somthing that the book before didnt have..



4. I think the Sheffermans have wonderful writing skills in thier magazine, but it somehow doesn't work in a book. I found the book a nice addition to my collection of ferret books, as well as pretty enjoyable to read once through. I just felt it was a little lacking in depth for a ferret book. It's a good begginer book, but I think anyone with many years of ferret experience wouldn't find this book as helpful or appealing.



5. I checked out several books on ferrets from the library, and then bought this one. I felt it contained all of the useful, general information a ferret fancier needed. Since I had never owned a ferret when I first owned the book, it answered all of my basic questions. Later as I became more experienced with my pets, I still found useful tips for strange behaviours, suggested treats, etc. Between this book, and the alt.pets.ferrets Usenet group, you'll have all the advice you need to have healthy happy little bouncies!