Ping, is a blaze/panda mix.
The Waardenburg gene has expressed itself visibly
down to every detail.
This is Ping. He is considered a blaze/panda mix. I
think he couldn't decide what to do. Typical blazes have a
stripe down the middle of their head continuing down their
back. They usually do not have socks nor mitts (though they
can), but more typically white toes. White knees are common.
It's not uncommon for them to have a white spot on or
underneath their tails. They may or may not have white
speckled bellies, and may or may not have a white bib. Most
of the time their noses are pink. Their eyes vary from a
burgandy to ruby color.
Pong
This is Pong. Now his deafness was hard for me to
believe and accept at first. He looks like a bibbed Sable.
Just a garden variety marked standard ferret pretty much. But
upon close examination, Pong has a lot of white hair
underneath his paws, and if you look closely...he has two
white tipped toes on each foot.
each front foot has snow white hair underneath
He has a large white spot on his tail. He has lots of
roan white hairs dispersed all over his body. He has a lot of
white on his muzzle, and a pink nose. Now...if you reaaaally
want to stretch it, Pong has a white line of hair that is
paper thin between his ears that is about an inch long. You
really have to look. Now although these are such miniscule
markings … it is none the less evidence of a Waardenburg gene
in him that never really came out. Unfortunately for him the
deafness trait did.
Look to see two white tipped toes on each front paw.
He has a white spot underneath his tail that is very visable.
Not visible in this pic is a thin white line on top of his
head, and obvious white eyebrows. He has a lot of white about
his head and the bib you can see.
He has a white spot underneath his tail
that is very visible.
As far as personality goes, Pong is atypical in that
he is very alert and acts exactly like a normal ferret,
except for when growing up we had trouble teaching him not to
bite down so hard while playing. Ping is more typical. He
tends to act as if in a "haze" at times compared to other
ferrets. We notice that when he comes out of his cage he
seems to go through a ritual of checking everything out first
before he will play at all. He seems to need lots of
structure to feel good. He thrives on regular time schedules,
not moving his treasures, and not having strange smells about.
As a kit Ping didn't make dooking, chucking, hissing, or
he-he ferret noises. He was very quiet, and when excited he
screeched...sometimes very loudly. He is seven months old
right now and is almost mute. He power sniffs constantly,
much more than a normal ferret. Socially, he is a bit more
"off" than the others...tending to watch and sniff as the
others romp. Now don't get me wrong… this boy can play! I'm
just saying in comparison to hearing ferrets as a whole is
all. Something other ferret owners of deaf ferrets and I have
noticed is that they can seem to almost seek tactile
stimulation more than a normal ferret. For instance, as soon
as I put a square of different textured surface down on the
floor the others check it out and leave, or try to drag it
around. Ping will go to it and roll all over it and then
finally lay on it and stay there! He tends to want to mouth
things a lot, always carrying things around in his mouth. He
takes treats more readily than the others. I have also
noticed that my deaf ferrets like vibration. They love the
feeling the vibration of the carpet around a vacuum cleaner.
I can't keep them away from a running vacuum period!
Something else we have noticed is that he gets attached to
objects, totes them around, hides them, moves them, etc...he
gets super attached to stuffed beany animals and actually
puts them in a prepared next of blankies.
Here is Ping carrying his "baby" to the second floor
and going about tucking it in a blanket
before he goes to bed on the fourth floor
Remember, these guys may have a little trouble being
introduced to hearing ferrets as they [deaf] are usually much
rougher. They can't hear when another ferret says, "ouch" or
"too much". Done gradually, and with care introduction to new
ferrets or play groups usually isn't a big problem. The word
here is "patience". If there is some rough going, it will
work out in time. You need to be calm. And if there is a
problem it just means you must go slower with the process,
and be more careful and vigilant. The introductions must be
gradual... days of not letting them together, then of letting
them look in the cages and sniff for more days, then the next
step is taking out the new guy and holding him safely as the
other free roams and letting the established ferret come up
to see and smell the new guy. Don't ever forget to give the
established ferret plenty of attention. You get the idea.
The trick is to let them work out the social order, etc, but
to also know when to gently intervene when the deaf ferret is
biting too hard before a bad experience happens for the two
of them. I many times just come up to one of my guys and pet
them nice when they get hyper-focused onto a new or younger
ferret and biting way to hard. They stop, and look at me very
blankly when I do. I distract them or redirect their
attention on something else. I find deaf ferrets are a little
more persistent than hearing ferrets whether its getting into
something, climbing on a table, digging, or getting obsessive
over another ferret. They seem to hyper-focus.
I notice that my deaf ferrets are less afraid of baths
than the others. They are quite the face swimmers! I have not
heard from others if this is just personality on the part of
my ferrets, or if it's common in deaf ferrets. You can bet
I'll be researching these sorts of things in depth for this
page. One fun thing about deaf ferrets is sometimes they are
easier to travel with than normal ferrets as they do not have
to deal with all the strange new sounds when they are in new
environments. They can seem to be more at ease.
Let's move on to the special needs of deaf ferrets.
Some misunderstood ferrets, biters, are often found to be
deaf. Once they feel safe, are treated properly, and are
properly trained however, they are just as loving as any
other ferret. Deaf ferrets can not hear a ferret or human say
ouch when they bite down too hard..so as you can imagine with
this lack of communication they can tend to bite too hard.
Some are nervous from people coming up behind them and just
grabbing or scooping them up. That would scare the bazooka
out of you, wouldn't it? So sometimes a deaf ferret can freak
out and bite over that. I have never ever had a problem. I
forget and come up from behind my buddies all the time
without warning. But I am aware that there is always a chance
of scaring them in such a way they would act out by doing
this. Deaf ferrets are at risk of getting lost a bit more
than a normal f erret. So if you want to be safe, have a
collar, tag and especially a bell on them when they are out
of the cage. Also training them to come to a visual thing and
smell is helpful for when you need to find them.
three common things to use for finding deaf ferrets
Some ferrets have been trained to come out to a
flashlight or laser pointer. You can do this by giving them a
treat and lots of positive attention every time they come out
to see a flashlight, or chase a laser pointer. So practice
these drills daily. Pick a light your ferret is curious about
and every time they follow it to you and come to you quick
give them a treat and/or Ferretone, and then lots of hugs and
encouragement. If they get lost, then you just take your
trusty laser pointer or flashlight, and an open bottle of
Ferretone for them to get a wiff of with you to find them.
This training just may help you find your little one and save
a life.
Deaf ferrets can be taught to do things by sign
language if you wish. You must be consistent with whatever
signs you choose to use. Make sure it is all the time, make
sure everyone uses the same sign, and make sure the ferret is
rewarded with a treat and lots of attention for the
accomplished task. For example, my ferrets come to me when I
do the following: first off, it is good to get the attention
of the ferret by taking your arm outstretched, palm down, and
waving it up and down. We all know they are attracted to
waving towels. That will make them look at you.
I then put my hand down inches off the floor palm up...and
wiggle my fingers vigorously. When I first began training, I
took my other hand and in an up and down fashion hit the top
of my forearm also a few times at the same time as wiggling
my fingers on the other hand.
a friend can help you train your ferret
in time this is what your ferret will do
Other people have noticed their ferrets to be a bit
sensitive to vibration. So they call their ferrets by
crouching down, and hitting the floor with both hands
simultaneously instead.
One thing is for certain, deaf ferrets need to feel
secure. You can do this by doing lots of little things. You
can stomp your feet before you open up the cage to get them
or pick them up. You can lightly blow on their fur if they
are asleep before picking them up (never blow in their faces…
you wouldn't like that would you?). You can tap the cage a
few times before going in to get them. You can lightly touch
their backs before picking up and making sure they are awake
and see you. I like to do an array of these things. For
example, when I come up to their cage I stomp twice. I open
the door, and blow on their fur when they are sleeping, and
then gently stroke them before picking them up. I try never
to sneak up on them or catch them off guard when they romp
about the house.
This is how my husband securely holds ping and talks
to him. He is holding the ferret securely on the forearm, and
he has the ferrets' face gently turned so the ferret can see
him talking, and his expressions. He mostly just holds him
on his lap and talks, but I personally like holding them to
my upper chest, under my neck so they can feel the vibration
of me speaking.
Something worth mentioning here is dead ferret sleep.
All ferrets are capable of doing this. What is it? It is when
a ferret goes so deep into sleep they can be darn near
impossible to wake up. With deaf ferrets this is more common.
When Ping was a kit, he went into one that was so deep we
could NOT wake him. We both tried, and he was like a lifeless
dishrag. I had to watch my 6'1" husband on his knees holding
this baby paniced and begging me to do something. I couldn't.
I had to watch this huge fella break into tears. It was a few
minutes, but Ping finally roused. He still does it but not as
bad.
Here is ping at 8 months old…
all three pounds of him in a dead ferret sleep.
When I hold them, I make sure they feel very supported.
I hold them securely with both hands and support their back
legs. I like to hold them close too. I also like to hold them
up to my neck/chest area and talk to them so they can feel
the soothing vibration. I went through a lot of trouble when
my boys were little babies doing all this. But it was worth
it! They are not skittish in the least. They have never
gotten scared. They have never bitten anyone either. They are
now seven months old and when a child runs up behind them and
scoops them up, they are just laid-back as can be. They feel
secure from how I raised them. I don't even go through some
of the motions too much any more as they seem to not need it
anymore. Much of what I do is just second nature now. I
don't even have to think to tap the cage, swing their hammock,
or gently stroke them before waking them up. It's just habit.
Lastly I will go into discipline and communication
with a deaf ferret. To teach a ferret no, there are many
options. To stop biting there is all sorts of biting training
to try. You can cover your hands with bitter apple. You can
shove your hand back towards the back of their mouth while
they are biting you if possible... this is very unpleasant
especially to a kit and they will stop. Ultimately if nothing
works you can do some of the following:
Scruff your ferret by the back of the neck
You can clearly see the ferret is held
by the looser skin on the back of his neck.
This does not hurt them.
The ferrets' response is to usually completely
go limp and relax.
Hold up the ferret by the scruff and have them able
to see your face. Make a sad or mad face, shake your head no,
mouth or say no, ..You may even want to also hold up a finger
in front of them and shake it back and forth ...
Then you drag your ferret by the scruff on his back on the
floor about 24 inches...
I know at this angle the ferret looks hurt or something
but he is NOT. He is in a totally relaxed mode,
hanging like a trusting kit.
This is the same action mother ferrets use on kits
to teach them.
Likewise, alpha leaders of multi-ferret homes use this action.
People have also used brief time outs in their cages.
I have no experience in this. If you do this please don't use
the time out in their home cages...that would teach them that
their home/bed is a place of punishment. Use a small travel
cage for this. And also remember a ferret is just that... a
ferret, an animal… make the time out veeeery brief.
So as you can see, there is much that you can do to
train a deaf ferret. You can also see each personality is
different. Pong is stone deaf, believe me… yet he lacks many
of the common stereotypical traits that many deaf ferrets
have. When deaf ferrets feel secure, they frolic and act just
as ferrety as any hearing ferret.
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