From:
Andrea
Date: 2010-08-27 17:59:20 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Blind ferret
To: Ferret Health <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
I just wanted to share an experience with everyone in case it can help some=
one else.=A0 My 5 yr old ferret was just diagnosed with progressive retinal=
degeneration.=A0 She's blind.
A couple of weeks ago, I thought I saw her bump into something.=A0 So I wat=
ched her for a bit, and she seemed to get around just fine with no other is=
sues.=A0 She seemed to follow my hand in front of her...etc... (doing a few=
tests on her).=A0 Then last week, I noticed her eyes looked blue-ish in co=
lor to me (they were actually cloudy - glaucoma).=A0 We saw the vet and had=
an ophthalmology consult... and she is just about completely blind.=A0 The=
y said its an inherited disease, and no treatments for it.
But thinking back and racking my brains, how did I not get that she was goi=
ng blind earlier?=A0 I've been racking my brain, and these are some signs t=
hat I noticed that may help someone else.=A0 She had just about stopped run=
ning around.=A0 She would always walk.=A0 I had chalked that up to insulino=
ma as she is just not as active anymore.=A0 But that's why I didnt really n=
otice her bumping into things... she was walking, and the vet said she had =
probably started to rely on her other senses more... like her whiskers tell=
ing her something was in front of her.=A0 If I put her up on something, lik=
e a bed or table, she could always tell where the edges were.=A0 I would th=
ink that a blind ferret would just walk off the edge.=A0 But the vet said s=
he can use her whiskers also for that.=A0 When she walked around, she usual=
ly would keep her head lower to the ground... to me, it looked like she was=
just sniffing things.=A0
Just some tips in case this can help someone else.
Andrea
=20=20=20=20=20
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