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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 5/26/2008 9:42:09 PM
Posts: 1,
Visits: 8
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| I got a new little boy yesterday and suspect he may be deaf. How can I know for sure? If he is, what (if any) special care will he need? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/1/2008 1:36:01 PM
Posts: 18,
Visits: 78
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Hello, I am the owner of 3 ferrets, 2 which are deaf. They have Waardenburg syndrome which is a genetic syndrome that causes deafness. I knew as soon as I brought one home that something wasn't right, then I looked up deafness in ferrets and he matched all the symtoms for waardenburg, then I went back and got another one that was also deaf for a buddy for him (I assume they are half brothers since its a genetic syndrome which is inherited by half the litter). Some of the physical symtoms are blue eyes, white strip on the head, white feet, and mostly a white face, also check for a cleft palate in the mouth...if he doesn't have a cleft palate than that is a good sign. Mine also have a wider head due to the syndrome that widens the skull. Definitely test if he can hear by making sounds that won't cause vibrations, I notice mine don't wake up from sleeping in their cages when the vaccum is on either. When they play it sometimes can get out of hand because they can't hear the other one scream, so I definitely have to keep an eye on them. You also might notice that he screams in his cage, one of mine used to do that which I thought was odd because I had never had a deaf ferret, but researching it I found out that they are more vocal than non-deaf ferrets because they cannot hear how loud they are. When looking for them in my playroom, sometimes I notice they fall alseep anywhere so to find them I use a flashlight or try and make vibrations on the floor. I love having my deaf ferrets, they medically haven't had any other problems and they are the sweetest ferrets, also smart. Definitely research Waardenburg if he has any of the symtoms, patients is the key, you can teach him hand signals as well but I find mine move to fast to do it  I look forward to hearing back from you. Hope this helps. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me. I would love to see a picture of him! Ashley Sox, Chance (aka Nolan) and Chase (aka Stewie)
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/18/2008 12:28:45 PM
Posts: 5,
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lol i had to laugh cos the little boy i have in my avaitar is snackpack and he is deaf, but what got me laughing was they will fall asleep anywhere. snackpack is like a little skin baby with his sleeping, he will be playing then fall asleep right where he is. sometimes it's in the middle of the room too. he's the funniest most active out of all my ferrets. he doesn't scream tho or tilt his head and his eyes are brown lol
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Community Moderator
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