Books on Animals

Miscellaneous: Animal Care and Vet Books

If you want to buy a book, clicking on the book cover will take you directly to that book on the Amazon.co.uk web site.

See also:
Miscellaneous: General
Books on Animal Behaviour including Animal Coginition

Black’s Veterinary Dictionary

Edward Boden (ed)
A & C Black Publishers Ltd; 21st Revised edition (31 Oct 2005)
ISBN-10: 0713663626
ISBN-13: 978-0713663624

This is a new edition of a classic which is especially useful for anyone who is responsible for different types of animals, and is also a handy reference book for vets, veterinary nurses, and animal care students. It is easy for non-vets to follow, so is very useful for people who want more understanding than the average home vet book can provide. Black’s Veterinary Dictionary can help pet owners prevent disease, as well as helping them tackle problems once they arise. There is advice on good husbandry, and the book can help you to prevent problems from becoming serious by allowing you to spot symptoms of illness early on. The information on diagnosis and treatment can help with decisions on whether or not to call a vet, and with understanding what your vet is telling you. This is also a useful book for smallholders, since it covers a wife range of veterinary topics, including bird flu, and problems affecting goats and pigs. The new edition has been updated, and includes information on the Pet Travel Service for owners going abroad with their pets.

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100 Top Consultations in Small Animal General Practice

Peter Hill, Sheena Warman and Geoff Shawcross Wiley-Blackwell (18 Mar 2011)
ISBN-10: 1405169494
ISBN-13: 978-1405169493

This book is geared to newly graduated vets, but it is also useful for anyone interested in small animal veterinary issues, including veterinary nurses, animal care and other students, and anyone responsible for small animals such as cats, dogs and rabbits. It is essentially a practical reference book, designed to be easily accessible, with colour photos and diagrams to make diagnoses easier. The focus is on the most common problems that vets see, so the problems that owners are most likely to encounter. You can look up both symptoms, such as rashes or diarrhoea, and diseases, such as epilepsy or diabetes. There is also a discussion of costs, which is useful for non-vets. All too often owners complain that not all options have been explained to them, and that at times vets do not mention more expensive options, assuming that the client is unwilling to pay. However, sometimes tests can save money and animals' lives, by allowing for a more accurate and rapid diagnosis, rather than persisting with inappropriate treatments based on guesswork. This book is especially useful for owners of more valuable small animals such as working dogs, in that it helps with decisions on whether or not to call a vet, and allows them to have informed discussions with their vets.

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BSAVA Small Animal Formulary (British Small Animal Veterinary Association) [Spiral-bound]

Ian Ramsey
British Small Animal Veterinary Association; 7th Edition (27 May 2011)
ISBN-10: 1905319339
ISBN-13: 978-1905319336

This is a new and updated edition of a classic used by vets to decide on which drugs to prescribe for their small animal patients, including birds and reptiles. There is information on correct dosages, potential side-effects and safety precautions. The new edition has extra information on a range of drugs including new chemotherapy agents. There is also more information on treating exotic pets, such as reptiles. While this book is mainly aimed at vets, it is also useful for veterinary nurses, students of veterinary-related subjects, and anyone with responsibility for large numbers of small animals. It won't replace your vet, but allows you to have more informed discussions with him or her.

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BSAVA Textbook of Veterinary Nursing (BSAVA British Small Animal Veterinary Association)

Barbara Cooper, Elizabeth Mullineaux and Lynn Turner
British Small Animal Veterinary Association; 5th Edition (28 Oct 2011)
ISBN-10: 1905319266
ISBN-13: 978-1905319268

This is the fifth edition of a classic textbook designed for veterinary nursing students, and has been revised in line with RCVS syllabus changes. It is also useful for qualified veterinary nurses who want to update their knowledge. The book has been expanded to cover more topics, and has more illustrations. The clarity of the writing, the logical way the book is organised, and the illustrations, mean that it is accessible enough to be useful for anyone interested in the veterinary care of small animals.

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The Complete Textbook of Veterinary Nursing

Victoria Aspinall Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd; 2nd Revised edition (19 May 2011)
ISBN-10: 0702040509
ISBN-13: 978-0702040504

This is the second edition of an extremely useful book, which has been revised and updated. The big strength of the Complete Textbook of Veterinary Nursing is that it is interactive, and is linked to a website which gives a lot of support material as well as videos. The website is accessed using a code set out in each book. The book itself is easy to follow, with clear diagrams. The book is geared to student veterinary nurses, and will also appeal to qualified nurses wanting to update their knowledge. It is also of interest to students of animal care and related subjects, and has a lot of information likely to interest anyone working with animals who wants to know more about veterinary topics.

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Introduction to Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology Textbook

Victoria Aspinall and  Melanie Cappello
Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd; 2nd Revised edition (20 April 2009)
ISBN-10: 0702029386
ISBN-13: 978-0702029387

This is a very clearly written book designed for students of veterinary subjects, such as vets, and vet nurses and will also interest people needing to learn the basics of veterinary medicine, such as animal care students. It is accessible enough to be useful for pet owners, and is likely to interest people responsible for cats and dogs, especially working dogs which are involved in physically demanding activities. The book covers a wide range of topics, and is well illustrated. There is some information on exotics, though anyone especially interested in fish, reptiles and even horses will probably find the book too focused on cats and dogs to be much use. Useful features include opportunities to test yourself, and online resources. This is a very good basic textbook for anyone interested in learning about veterinary anatomy and physiology on a general level, or wanting to refresh their knowledge.

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Blackwell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult: Canine and Feline

Larry P. Tilley and Francis W. K. Smith Jr. (Editors)
Wiley-Blackwell; 5th Edition (28 Oct 2011)
ISBN-10: 0813807638
ISBN-13: 978-0813807638

This book is the latest edition of an American classic which is especially useful for people who have large numbers of cats or dogs, who breed cats or dogs, or who work in shelters, or run kennels or catteries. It is geared to vets, but because it is well-organised and clearly written, it is accessible to non-vets, including animal care students and veterinary nurses. Though the book is American, and US laws and professional structures differ somewhat from those in the UK, the basic medical information is just as relevant for the UK.

The great benefit of this book is that it can help you to make a rapid diagnosis. It's easy to find topics quickly, and then go into them in more depth. There is also a particularly useful appendix with information on tests, and on poisons and their antidotes. There is also information on drugs, including possible side-effects and how to avoid them. The book is pricey, but it's a fat book packed with information which can help save you money by helping you make the right decisions .

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Blackwell's Five-minute Veterinary Consult: Ruminant

Scott R. R. Haskell (Editor)
Wiley-Blackwell; 1 Har/Cdr edition (24 Feb 2009)
ISBN-10: 0781753252
ISBN-13: 978-0781753258

The Five-minute Veterinary Consults offer easy and fast access to veterinary information. The volume for cats and dogs has become a classic. Here, the same approach is used for ruminants, including goats, sheep, cattle, and even deer and camels. This is a quick reference guide written for Americans. It won't tell you all you need to know about UK rules and regulations, nor does it go into great depth on complex subjects like internal medicine. However, if what you want is a broad overview of ruminant veterinary medicine, this book is invaluable. It is especially useful for people who want to make a quick diagnosis as to what might be ailing their goats, sheep, or other ruminants, and also offers advice on preventing problems through good husbandry. It is also useful for new vet graduates, veterinary nurses, and all animal care professionals who deal with ruminants, as well as students of those subjects. It is quite expensive, but offers good value in terms of the information it provides, and the time you can save in accessing the information you need. If you are responsible for ruminants, this book is also good value in terms of vet bills you can save by allowing you to take informed decisions.

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BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets (BSAVA British Small Animal Veterinary Association)

Anna Meredith and Cathy Johnson Delaney
British Small Animal Veterinary Association; 5th Edition (19 Mar 2010)
ISBN-10: 1905319169
ISBN-13: 978-1905319169

The BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets is the key text for people interested in the veterinary medicine of exotic pets, such as small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. There is even information on invertebrates. The book is geared to vets, though others interested in exotics are also likely to find it useful, including vet nurses, owners of animal collections with a wide range of species, and people working with wildlife. The advice on disease prevention is particularly relevant to owners of varied collections. The book's illustrations and tables help to clarify the text, and make it easier to find information quickly. While there is some coverage of reptiles, anyone specialising in reptiles is likely to find the BSAVA Manual of Reptiles more useful (see below).

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Veterinary Nursing of Exotic Pets

Simon J. Girling
Wiley-Blackwell (12 Mar 2003)
ISBN-10: 1405107472
ISBN-13: 978-1405107471

This is a very clear guide to exotic pets, which is useful for pet owners as well as veterinary professionals, since there is clear advice on husbandry and disease prevention, as well as on tackling problems. The range of animals covered, and the clarity of the text, also make the book useful for people dealing with injured wildlife, or involved in wildlife conservation. There is also a lot on the anatomy and physiology properties of different species, of more secific interest to vet professionals. The book is very well illustrated with both diagrams and photos, technical terms are explained when they are introduced, and the book is also well-organised. Veterinary Nursing of Exotic Pets is the best and most accessible guide to this subject around.

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Reptiles & Amphibians (Self-Assessment Colour Review)

Fredric L. Frye DVM MSc CBiol FIBiol FRSM, and David L. Williams MA VetMB Cert VOphth MRCVS
Manson Publishing (1 Jan 2005)
ISBN-10: 1874545324
ISBN-13: 978-1874545323

This book is designed for veterinarians and vet students who want to develop their knowledge of reptiles and amphibians. It is an unusual book in that it is both useful for vets, including experienced vets who don't often see herps, and is also accessible enough to be a valuable resource for anyone especially interested in amphibians and reptiles. This includes serious hobbyists who keep herps as pets. The book is also likely to interest anyone studying reptiles and amphibians in the wild, especially those involved in their conservation. Vet books aren't cheap, but there aren't many vets who are specialists in herpetologic medicine, so it pays to develop your own expertise if you have a large collection that you want to keep healthy, or if you have responsibility for wildlife.

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BSAVA Manual of Reptiles (British Small Animal Veterinary Association)

British Small Animal Veterinary Association; 2nd edition (May 2004)
ISBN-10: 0905214757
ISBN-13: 978-0905214757

This is an updated edition of the very solid BSAVA Manual of Reptiles, a fat book with a wealth of information. There is a lot of information on husbandry which is useful both for vets trying to find out the cause of diseases, and for owners who want to keep their reptiles in good health. The information on nutrition is especially useful. The new edition has more illustrations including colour photos, and more information on different topics, including neonatal care. Much of the second part of this book is likely to be mainly of interest to vets, since it deal with more technical issues like anaesthesia and surgery. However, it does allow those responsible for reptiles to have informed discussions with their vets. The information on infectious diseases and parasitology is particularly relevant to people responsible for large collections of reptiles. There are also appendices with tables for dosages, symptoms, and there is safety advice on handling poisonous snakes and lizards.

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