3 Geckos dead

[Cyrene]

I don't know much about geckos, and I haven't looked into them much until these past few days but I'm hopeing for some answers or some good places to look for answers.
I work at a pet store part-time (one day a week at most and only Sundays) and we got a shipment of african fat-tail geckos in on tuesday. None of them looked exactly healthy to me, but like I've stated, I don't know much about them. Their tails were pretty thin compared to healthy specimens I've seen, they weren't eating and one was so skinny it was sickening. They are all dead now and it really ticks me off!! I went in wednesday to see how they were and I did what I could for them, but the owner refused to let me take them to the vet. I made sure they had extra heat, I gave them a good soak in a warm water/electrolyte mixture and I took some of my smaller crix in for them to eat since the pet store only had bigger ones. I also took in a heat emitter and a rock of my own for night use since the owner wouldn't give them to me off the shelf for them. I also covered the sides and the bottom part of the front of the tank to ease stress and give them privacy. However, when I went in last night to check on them they were all dead. The manager of the store said that once in a while they just get a 'bad shipment' and their isn't anything they can do expect not order from that company/person anymore.
It breaks my heart and really ticks me off that these babies died and nobody seems to care except for me. Is there anything I could have done differently to help them? Is there a law that protects reptiles in pet stores? What would cause these guys to be so skinny and refuse to eat? Are they similar to some other reptiles in the fact that they should be rehydrated before feeding them food? I feel terrible that nothing I tried helped and none of the research I did seem to have the right answers.
The fact that the owner hired me for my knowledge of reptiles and my willingness to research (on my own time of course!) what I don't know and then basically tie my hands by not letting me take them to the vet really upsets me. These guys only had me to count on and I let them down I don't want this to happen again.
Any good links, suggestions or advice you guys and gals can give me will be greatly appreciated. I have some care sheets, and I know the basics of keeping them in right habitat, I need to know what to do with the sick and unhealthy ones though. Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

[Zippy]

One of them may have had a parasite and it spread to all the others. I would disenfect that cage in case it still has the parasite in it.

[Cyrene]

The three sick ones were put in a tank with one that was already at the store, much to my dismay, and that one is still doing very well. I don't think it was a parasite or the other one would be sick wouldn't it? Just to be on the safe side I'll call the manager and see if she'll disinfect the tank now or if I need to go in and do it myself if she don't have the time.

[Pooka]

No sense in beating yourself up over it cyrene. The fact of the matter is most small lizards do not show signs of sickness or decline untill it is nearly too late. The trip to the vet may not have even helped. I think your boss was right in judgeing it as a "bad shipment", obviously the distributor or breeder (likly wild caught distributor) did not take proper care of the animals or is sending already sick specimens.
Also, most lizards coming from a pet store have parasites. Heck almost ALL animals have parasites its just manageing those levels will keep the animal healty. I am willing to bet that 99% of the animals in that store have minor levels of some parasites so I wouldn't worry about disinfecting the cage too much.

[Zekey]

I've been away for a couple days, wish I had seen this thread earlier.... Sorry, what a terrible experience for you Cyrene! I do agree tho, that they were sick before they were received by the pet store. It sounds like they were probably wild caught like Pooka said, or they were shipped too young & not ready for the traumatic experience of being shipped. If at any time you see a fat tail, Leo, or any gecko that is supposed to have a fat tail & it is thin.....it is already sick (too sick). You couldn't have done anything Cyrene & you should be applauded for doing what you did.

[Zippy]

OK sounds like a good idea.

[char]

Cyrene said:

IAre they similar to some other reptiles in the fact that they should be rehydrated before feeding them food? I feel terrible that nothing I tried helped and none of the research I did seem to have the right answers.

I know it's hard but don't beat yourself up about it. They may or may not have survived if you had taken them to a vet. You did the right thing by raising the temps. The answer to your question is yes. It's always more important to rehydrate first than it is to feed. Force feeding a dehydrated reptile can lead to shock and/or death. The digestive system needs fluids to process food and if they don't have enough fluids than the body may try to take it from other critical organs.

It is great that you tried. Don't stop trying.

[Cyrene]

Thanks everyone...for the answers and the support. I really appreciate it. There was an albino in the batch, so I'm pretty sure these were captive bred. They were very small as well, I'm guessing just hatchlings, really. SVL might have been 1 1/2 to 2 inches at the most.

What is the best way to rehydrate geckos? Especially when they are just hatchlings? Would you recommend using Pedilyte, gatorade or anything like that? Is it better to soak them, for them to drink it (if they will) or to tube them? I've tubed liquids into an adult savannah monitor, but never any reptiles as small as these guys were! I'm not even sure I would attempt it, really. How long should they be rehydrated before giving them food and what foods should be given? The pet store only has 1/2 inch crix on hand which is why I took some of my smaller ones in. My crix seem to breed whether I want them to or not so I usually have some pinheads and 1/8 inch ones available.
That's quite a few questions so I'll save the other ones for later. Again, thanks for the info and the support. You guys and gals are wonderful

[char]

They probably were captive bred. I've never seen an Albino African Fat Tailed though. That's interesting. Anyways, the African and the Leopard Gecko's are fairly easy to breed in captivitiy so most of them seen now in the pet trade are captive born.
You could use Pedialite or Gatorade (a 1:1 solution). I would try using a dropper and droping a couple of drops on their noses and see if they will lick it off. With reptiles you don't want to rehydrate them too quickly. If you do you could have just as much damage as leaving them be. If they won't lick it off I would take a small dropper or small needeless syringe and gently put it in their mouths. You can try putting it toward the corner of their mouth and working it in this way. This seems to work with me and my small water dragon when he needed this. Only give a couple of drops every couple of hours. Again, don't give too much at once or it could send their system into shock. If at all possible it's best to take them to a vet but I know in your case because of your boss and predicament it was impossible.
Hopefully this won't be an issue for you again but you never know. It's too bad your boss doesn't listen to you.
He may actually be known as a pet store owner with a heart instead of a...well, you know.

[Cyrene]

Thanks for the info. , Char. The water dropper works well with my BD's and I used a syringe with the savannah when he started getting better.
I'm slowly working on the boss man, hopefully he'll come around one of these days! I think one of the dumbest things he's ever said was that if a customer had any questions about the set-up of tanks to just look at the stores for ideas. Yea Right!! Tanks consist of Repti-Bark, water bowl, Romain lettuce and Reptomin SoftGel and a house bulb for light and heat. Yea, that's gonna give them a clue as to how to set up a tank...Idiotic man!! He didn't even know that 'full spectrum' didn't exactly mean it produces UVB, He was surprised when I told him they didn't produce UVB. I'm either gonna irritate this man so much he ends up fireing me or finally comes around to my point of view. Oops..getting off the subject here. Sorry. Thanks again for the info.