Saturday I picked up 2 ferrets that were given to me.  This past Monday
I had to help the last of my 7 ferrets, Bartok, along to the Rainbow
Bridge due to Lymphoma spreading very quickly.  My kids (4, 2, and 1)
were not coping without him, no matter how much I explined it to them,
it was useless.
 
Now, getting on to Me-Da and Mocha.  Me-Da is the problem.  He is a MF at
least 5 y/o Silver Mitt.  The previous owner thought he might be blind
and her reasoning was because he would run in to things (walls,bookcase)
He wouldn't do this all the time just some times.  I have had them for 2
days and it's beginning to get more apparent.  First off, his right eye
is a little red, swollen-she said he scratched it.  He will be going to
the vet Tuesday when he's back in the office.  Just tonight he ran smack
dab in to the cage.  I don't know if he can see partially because it's
not all the time.  He comes out and plays, runs around just fine...has
not bit or even attempted to bite.  I did transfer them to my cage which
is bigger and a whole lot cleaner.  I kept their fleece blanket and
hammock (washed them of course and the ferrets too) but everything else
is new to them.  They both are settled in, eating/drinking come out to
play a lot with my kids and run the house.  How do you tell if one is
blind?  I know the deafness because of one of my previous ferrets being
deaf.  Me-Da is a very solid sleeper.  For him to come out and play, I
have to physically wake him.  Another thing is, I just finished giving
them both a treat.  Me-da smelled it just fine but when I layed it on his
blanket he could not find it without me holding it up to his mouth.  My
kids are already attached to these fuzzies and I will do whatever I need
to even though they were given to us.  I spent $150 on Bartok last week.
His tumor busted open, but he was still wanting to get down and play.
Very hard on all of us with him being gone, but these 2 new ones fill the
void a little.
 
What can I do or the vet due to determine if he's deaf or blind or both
at that matter?  He does sleep on the bottom level in the fleece blanket
that is folded over for him to get in.  He will not go to the hammocks
at all...Mocha sleeps in one of the hammocks.  Me-Da is great about the
litterbox.  There have been no mishaps at all and this is a new cgae to
them.  They both go to the litterbox, 3/4 of the time they go back to
the cage to use it when they're out running.
 
What do I do?
Thanks,
Danielle
[Posted in FML issue 4663]