Hey,
 
A ferret I'm fostering, who is up for adoption (in Lower Hutt, NZ - plug
plug) is deaf.
 
It actually took me a while to figure out that he was deaf.  I did not
perform any real tests per se, but came to my conclusion after observing
a number of clues.  For example:
 
* Rangi was sometimes startled / scared when I approached.  Other times he
would come trotting up to me as I approached.  Eventually I realised that
he came trotting up to me when he saw me approach and was startled if he
did not see me.
 
* All my other ferrets awake pretty quickly when I come home from work
(they hear the door open) or when I talked to them to encourage them to
awake.  Not Rangi, but he shoots up from under the covers when he feels
the cage move.  Similarly he shoots up from under the covers if he is
snoozing outside of the cage and I touch him.  When I say shoot up, I
mean shoot up - not a leisurely yawn and stretch.  Once he realises what
disturbed him (me), he settles down.
 
* I was putting a video tape away, with Rangi a few feet away.  I dropped
the tape and it hit the ground.  I jumped, but Rangi didn't even flinch.
This happened twice (no not deliberately, I'm just clumsy!).
 
* After suspecting that Rangi was deaf, I began to talk to him louder and
louder when he wasn't looking (thinking he might be only partially deaf),
but I got no response.
 
Rangi is a wonderful ferret who I would adopt in a heartbeat if I didn't
already have 5 of my own.  He does seem to 'actively dislike' other
ferrets, but I suspect this may be related to his deafness - ie.  he
doesn't see the other ferrets coming and freaks.  If he sees me
approaching, he will trot up to me and romp and play and wardance just
like any other ferret.
 
The threads on deaf ferrets came just at the right time for me and I thank
everyone who contributed.
 
Regards,
-David,
Thor, Grover, Lady Penelope, Milly, Snuff & foster Snuff.
[Posted in FML issue 3129]