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]