Is there a way to tell for sure if a ferret is blind?

[racheld]

I am starting to suspect that Remus is losing, or has lost, his sight.
He used to be a lot more...target oriented, I guess? He would see my feet or my boyfriends feet on the carpet and get excited and go after them, but he doesn't really do that any more. He doesn't play chase with me any more either. The only time I can really get him excited about playing is with a couple more 'tactle' toys, if I drag the soft part over his body.
He also seems to run into things a lot. I know ferrets are clumsy but he does it so much...especially on walks. And then he'll run along the side of the obstacle right next to it until he finds the end of it. 
He doesn't jump from beds any more, or if he does he's very hesitant. He used to take flying leaps all the time without thinking but now he'll stop at the edge of the bed and stick his head down over the edge and usually just stays there waffling until I come help him down.
I don't know. Maybe I'm just a paranoid mama but he does seem different. He doesn't seem upset by it if he is blind, he still loves checking out things in my room and bothering Naima. Still likes to go out for walks.
He is a marked ruby-eyed white, I don't know if color is a contributor to blindness, like how white boxers are more likely to be deaf.
If he is blind (and deaf, poor babe) what kind of things can I do for enrichment? 

[Heather]

Scents seem to be fun for them and they like hands on things...tickles, rubbing with towels. I used to use various herbs to scent towels and washcloths for Minion. Walking into things, spooking, falling are all possible signs of a blind ferret. Ferrets, especially farm ferrets often don't see very well anyway (if that's any consolation). Have you had him checked for cataracts?
ciao

[racheld]

I haven't, but I will keep it in mind for next time we go to the vet. It won't be long, I'm sure.
If that's the case it's no wonder he's having such a hard time picking up any kind of social cue from Naima. Poor love.

[Heather]

They do seem to be rather socially inept, poor wee mites. Minion took on Atreyu as his friend. You would never find one without the other. They played, slept and traveled together. Atreyu was Minion's eyes. Atreyu put up with a lot. Minion played too rough, bit too hard, didn't use the correct ferret conversation but Atreyu took it all in stride. He loved him Minion.
ciao

[Deleted]

Poor Remus, I hope he isn't losing his sight.
@muchasbellas, has a blind girl. Her Evanna. I tagged her and maybe she can offer some insight.

[msav]

Koufos is making me wonder if he is blind. That may have explained his sudden intolerance to the other ferrets. I see him wondering around and he will bump his nose on things. I think he still sees shadows, He will also come up to one of the other ferrets and he will sniff them up and down, then start licking the back of their neck. He will continue this for a bit and then he will bite down and shake them.

This causes retaliation and Koufos always gets his in the end.

With us recently moving to a new house he is now completely lost he will un-systematically roam the house. There is no doubt that he has lost most of his sight.

[racheld]

That must be so confusing for him.
I am moving in a couple of months, if it's workable I think I will keep Naima with my parents for a couple of days to let Remus get the lay of the land before I bring in Naima.

[Heather]

Are you treating Koufos for adrenal,msav ? That might also be an issue if he's a farm ferret. His attitude toward other ferrets mirrors Atreyu's. As an experiment I treated Atreyu with DES. All neck licking, biting and shaking others stopped. As the DES starts to wear off, his anti-social behaviour starts up again
ciao

[Deleted]

I mostly figured out Juliet is blind because she developed cataracts and her eyes are milky now, but there are signs and you can just guess on how much you think they can see. I think Juliet may be able to see some shadows and bright lights, according to my Vet it's possible.

Watch his behavior closely. Do you know if he's deaf? Juliet is blind & deaf. I treat her like much other ferrets, she loves to play in her tunnel and in her dig box and is in love with packing peanuts, but she never war dances or runs around or anything, she's really weird like that. But they do pretty good with just their smell, Juliet can get around really good considering.

[racheld]

I'm like...95% sure he's deaf. If he's not he's REALLY good at ignoring me. Ha.

[Deleted]

Evanna is blind, but she's a little old lady so she doesn't like to do much in terms of enrichment. Sometimes she gets really excited and started doing the weasel war dance, but then she runs into everything. I dont know if theres a for sure way to tell. I just noticed she ran into stuff a lot and was overly cautious especially in new places.

[msav]

Oct 29, 2014 15:22:59 GMT -5 Heather said:

Are you treating Koufos for adrenal,msav ? That might also be an issue if he's a farm ferret. His attitude toward other ferrets mirrors Atreyu's. As an experiment I treated Atreyu with DES. All neck licking, biting and shaking others stopped. As the DES starts to wear off, his anti-social behaviour starts up again
ciao

Koufos has been on Des all his life.   He started attacking everybody after I introduced Mogwai to the group. I have slowly been able to reintegrate him with the rest.  he still starts things on occasion, But not nearly as often as when they were first introduced. 

He has no other signs of adrenal except for the aggression.  

the funny thing about Koufos is that he will cuddle with every one in the cage, there are occasional squabbles over sleeping spots. but they get along most of the time. There is no change in behavior after getting a new Des implant