Microchipping is a great innovative idea, but it is still a controversial topic among pet owners. Some people swear. by microchips, and some shelters microchip just about every animal that passes through their doors. Other people have their doubts about the effectiveness and consistency of microchipping.

Below are some of the pros and cons that I have heard mentioned - perhaps they can serve as a jumping-off point for your own research.

Pros:

• Microchips can help pets be reunited with their owners.
• Microchips are small (about the size of a large grain of rice) and the insertion process is relatively painless.
• Microchips cannot get lost the way collars and tags can.
• Microchips do not "burn out." They usually remain active for the lifetime of the pet.

Cons:

• Microchipping can be costly ($25 to $50 per animal), especially if you have several animals that you want microchipped.
• Microchipping may not always be reliable. There are several companies that currently manufacture microchips. Unfortunately, each company has its own chip frequency. This means that if your lost ferret contains a chip from Company A, but the shelter at which your pet ends up uses a scanner from Company B, the shelter personnel may not be able to read the chip. Shelter personnel can usually tell that a chip is pre- sent, but they won't be able to scan the chip to read the identification number, which is how they find out who owns the ferret.
        There is hope for this situation, however. Some microchip companies have developed universal microchip readers that will read chips other than their own. Not all shelters have the new units, but their use will, hopefully, become more widespread.
• If someone finds your ferret, they may not think to have the animal checked for a microchip. Even though microchips have been around for many years now, many people are not aware of their existence.

     If you wish to investigate microchipping further, and have access to back issues of Ferrets, read the article "Microchipping Ferrets" in the July/August 1999 issue. You can also contact the following three microchip manufacturers for additional information: AVID: (800) 336-2843 Destron Fearing Corp.: (651) 455-1621 Schering-Plough Animal Health: (800) 521-5767