This is part of a series of discussions on albinism:
 
XXXXXXX wrote:
>An engineer I used to know who was an albino told me that he had to
>take extra precautions against the sun, too, not only due to burning
>and related skin diseases, but because it increased his chances of
>developing cataracts. True?
 
Yes, both eyes and skin are very vulnerable to UV radiation, and albinos
are generally photophobic (eyes sensitive to strong light and glare).
Other vision problems include low visual acuity, nystagmus (involuntary
eye movements), absence of stereo vision, and strabismus (ocular
misalignment, such as crossed eyes).  [Note that Siamese cats get their
pattern from a form of partial albinism, which is why many of them are
cross-eyed.]
 
>If so, I guess that perhaps we have to consider that vision aspect
>(though they really don't usually seem to mind vision loss much at all)
>and the skin disease aspect in daily actions with albino ferrets, or
>perhaps not since their lives are shorter (giving less chance to develop
>skin cancers) and vision less important in their sensory menu?
 
The relative unimportance of vision is one reason to consider albinism a
minor defect in ferrets.  I didn't mention the potential problems with UV
exposure because I haven't made up my mind on whether this danger is worth
worrying about, but I lean towards considering it insignificant.  For one
thing, ferrets don't generally get a great deal of solar exposure, spending
lots of time in the shade even when housed outdoors.  Sunburn is probably
not a worry since they have very little skin that isn't protected by
their coat.  Cataracts may be a greater risk, but I haven't seen any data
comparing rates in albinos vs. non- albinos.  White-faced breeds of cattle
lacking pigment around the eyelids are at higher risk of ocular squamous
cell carcinoma, but I don't know if this would hold true for white-faced
ferrets.  (Maybe our favorite pathologist has some data on this?)
 
Overall, I haven't yet seen any evidence that albino ferrets require any
special protection or concern.  Perhaps some of our FHL members who hunt
with ferrets and/or house them outdoors might have some insights for us?
 
Brett
 
*SLMW 1.0*  An object at rest cannot be stopped.
[Posted in FML issue 3396]