First, of course, try to teach the manager/owner because there might just
have been a major goof by an employee, but if that fails then call a
local legislator and find out who in your state oversees or licences pet
stores, or which one gets involved when abuse occurs at pet stores (and
hurting feet may qualify, but starvation and risk of fatal blockage by
giving rodent food to obligate carnivores will qualify easily in many
areas as abuse since imposing starvation is typically frowned upon).
Sadly, providing toys is not always covered as an essential in such
laws when they exist, but mention it in case.  DO mention a possible need
for vet care due to parasites.  In our state if that is found then the
actions taken extend to all types of the animals in the store who can be
infected.  Contact that agency and report this.  It is amazing how fast a
place will improve if the licence or some subset of it may be at risk.
 
Interesting, Karla, you've seen a target pattern with a mast cell tumor?
Red ring, light inside, then dark center?  That is a lot better than the
thing I wondered about.  Thinking about it I recall that I've seen the
pattern with an infection.  We've just entered tick season around here
and I've got that on my mind for a different reason.  One thing you will
want to know is that even though it IS usually a good idea to remove mast
cell tumors from ferrets (for comfort's sake and to reduce infection
risk) they typically are benign in ferrets; ferrets differ in this from
dogs.  There is only one malignant ferret one in a pathology collection
that I have ever heard of and that one is at the AFIP.  I had a few
minutes so wanted to search the FHL Archives today to see if there is a
past vet post about Lyme but it was down which is unusual for the sonic
weasel site so it is probably maintenance.  (The Complete FHL Archives
are at a separate location from the FHL.)
 
In the FML Archives I found:
http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9511&L=ferret-search&P=R10894
by Bruce Williams saying:
>Although spontaneous cases of Lyme disease have not been reported yet
>in the ferret, I see no reason that they would not get it if bitten by
>an infected...
 
and at
http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9504&L=ferret-search&P=R7824
>Although spontaneous cases of Lyme disease have not been reported yet in
>the ferret, I see no reason that they would not get it if bitten...
 
To read the entire posts you'll need to go to those URLs.  Each one
has some differences in the info included even though they start out
similarly.
 
[Moderator's note : The URLs eventually change when I add older FMls to
the archives (i.e. before 1992), but haven't done that for a while.  BIG]
 
The rule of thumb with health things, of course, is "When in doubt go
to the vet!".
 
Apologies for any funny typing that is even worse than usual.  I am being
careful (so this may be better than usual, but have a bandaged finger
that makes me clumsy and something is working its way down my keyboard
behind the keys that we can't get out.  Right now it is behind "g" so
it takes several strikes to make that key work.
 
Reminder: since there is need for this addy about every three days
anyone who needs to find links for health related stuff should bookmark
http://www.ferretcongress.org.
[Posted in FML issue 4096]