Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, our baby ferret has no response to sound at all, really.
She can be sleeping, and we will make the loudest noise beside her, and she doesn't even twitch from it. Also, when she's running around, if we say anything or yell to her, she doesn't even look back our way or anything... She always just goes about her business as if she didn't hear anything at all...

Is there any way for us to tell if she is deaf?

Thanks.

Ferrets sleep very soundly. I've thought something was wrong with my fuzzies before when I couldn't rouse them. Try shaking the treatbox when you give them a treat. After a couple of times, this should be paired. Deafness is fairly common in ferrets though.

That would certainly explain the nippiness. Experiment with different sounds, both hi & low tones. Sometimes ferrets will hear one end of the sound spectrum but not the other. If your ferret is hearing impaired you need to train her to hand signals. Pick a couple and use them consistently when interacting with her. She'll soon learn what you want. You also need to devise a way of calling her, like flipping a light switch or beating on the floor.

If she's a Marshall's ferret and you still have her paperwork you can probably get the purchase price back by having your vet put something on letterhead attesting to that she is deaf. I know that's probably not important but it should cover her vax for the first 2 yrs.

I've had several deaf babies over the years. I've found that they're usually quite bright and easier to train than hearing ferrets. I guess it's because they have fewer distractions. They also tend to be more vocal than hearing ferrets.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

Our baby ferret is very vocal... She cries so loud at night sometimes that it keeps us up. As soon as we take her out of her cage and put her up on our bed, she is fine though.

LOL You do realize you're reinforcing that behavior, don't you? If you ever hope to break her of that you're going to have to let her cry for a few nights and leave her in the cage. I know it's hard but she needs to learn to sleep on her own.

Another thing I forgot to mention. Make sure you're not startling her when you pick her up. Make sure she sees or feels your presence and doesn't just find herself in mid-air. I imagine that could be very disconcerting.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

Our ferret is from Triple F Farms, I'm not sure if anyone here is familiar with them or not. They do have a "3 year guarantee against genetic defects", etc.

Would deafness fall under the ever-so-vague category of "genetic defects?"

Yes, it would.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.