If you are someone who experiences night blindness or difficulty seeing in low levels of lighting, it can seem that a small animal like a ferret may have an even more difficult seeing what’s in front of them. However, when it comes to vision, ferrets definitely have an advantage in some ways and are at a disadvantage in other ways.
The ferrets who live in our homes with us are descended with European polecats who are crepuscular, or most active around twilight. As such, many ferret owners find that their furry friends are most active around dawn and dusk, though this will depend on your own ferret as well as your schedule. Therefore, ferrets can actually see better than humans in low levels of light.
However, this does not mean that ferrets have amazing vision. In very dark conditions, ferrets have trouble seeing. Additionally, ferrets do not do well in suddenly bright conditions either and may take a minute or two to acclimate to the light upon waking up or if a bright light is turned on.
Additionally, ferrets do suffer from a level of color blindness. They are only able to see colors on the red and blue spectrums, so you may find that your ferret’s favorite toys are reds and blues rather than yellows, oranges, and greens.
Ferrets also have trouble with their depth perception, so it is important to ferret proof your home to ensure that there are no high surfaces that your ferret can accidentally fall off of and hurt themselves.
Where a ferret suffers from vision impairments, their sense of smell is absolutely amazing and is truly their guiding sense. Don’t be surprised if your ferret can smell things across the room that you, and your dogs, weren’t even able to smell.
Ferret ownership is amazing, but there is a lot to learn before bringing a ferret home! Take a peek at our other articles to make sure you are well informed before you bring a ferret into your family.