From:
Pam Sessoms
Date: 2002-11-06 14:47:11 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Retinal Atrophy Question
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <Pine.A41.4.44+UNC.0211060942430.25174-100000@login8.isis.unc.edu>
> immediately noticed there was something "odd" about his eyes. They
> seemed to have a sort of "alien green glow" to them. This "glow" is
> clearly noticeable even in dim lighting. None of my other Ferrets have
> this "glow" even under bright light.
I saw the same thing with my girl Sonic, who also became blind from
retinal atrophy. Once she was totally blind, Sonic's eyes looked very
different from the other ferrets at all times, and whenever light
reflected off of them, whether it was light or dark in the room, they
shimmered green.
> With Retinal Atrophy, do the pupils react to light??
I think you're on the right track. As I understand it, the green glow is
light reflecting from the retina. As the vision fails, the pupil gets
more and more dilated as it loses the ability to react to light, and so
the retina can shine like that when light hits it.
> http://www.animalsoup.net/ferrets/pix/big_buttsmell2.jpg
Cool pic!
Interestingly, this green retinal shine helps researchers involved in
Black Footed Ferrets. The BFF's are elusive and hard to spot, and they
look for them at night, when their eyes will be dilated. The researchers
use spotlights, and green eye reflections distinguish the ferrets from
other animals. I don't know if ALL mustelids share this characteristic or
not, and I don't know how many other animals have the green color.
Here's a pic of a BFF with shining green eyes - note the similarity to
your guy:
http://www.gf.state.az.us/frames/other/ferret9.htm
Best wishes,
-Pam S.