That does look like it has the alarm features you’d want. I am unfamiliar with that brand (I’m unfamiliar with many things tech) but I’m sure someone with knowledge on specific brands might have input.
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I’d double check the reviews on that one, 3.8 stars is what I would consider a bit too low. Turns out the UK also has Inkbird available, I found this one:
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Ill probably get that one then!
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Sounds good, I know a lot more people in the hobby use Inkbird, so it’s at least a known/somewhat trusted brand.
I did go back over this thread last night looking for anything that might’ve been missed, and with what I found, I do think a temp spike is likely what happened here. You posted a photo of the clutch on June 19th, 9 days into incubation, where everything looked great and you reported all were showing good vein structure. Your next update was about the sweating eggs a month later on July 19th, 39 days into incubation. The photo you posted then I initally thought looked good, but going back I can see that the eggs that ended up going bad had already started to discolor slightly. I had originally brushed this off as just staining from the incubation medium/moss. This means whatever happened, happened in that month between photos.
I had been talking with someone and they mentioned that during that time, the UK had some rather warm days, at least six that seem to be around/over 80ºF I know air conditioning isn’t very common in England, I’m guessing you may not have any? If the incubator had a temperature spike during a time where the home was already quite warm, it might’ve taken longer to cool down. You know from your probe that since you put it in, you’ve hit a high at one point of 85.5ºF as @caryl mentioned. If the discrepancy between the probe and the incubator display is consistent (≈ 2ºC), it means if it was set to turn off at 28ºC, it was likely regularly going to or above 86ºF for sustained periods of time. There’s also no way to know how hot it may have gotten at the highest point.
With all of that, I think it’s pretty safe to re-pair them next year and see what happens, hopefully you’ll have much better luck. I do hope you get something out of this clutch as well. Imo I’d consider cutting them sooner rather than later. At 73 days, if you cut a slit and just wait to see if they exit on their own, you should be fine.
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Yeah in the area I live in there was some days around 30ºC/86ºF and most homes don’t have any air conditioning unless its custom installed.
Yeah hopefully next year when using the thermostat things go much better.
Ill probably end up doing that sometime later today then. Hopefully a few of them are still okay in there.
But with this in mind hopefully next year goes much better.
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After cutting them all the eggs had a reddish/brown yolk but unfortunately none of them were alive…
Now im feeling really guilty for basically cooking them.
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I am so, so sorry things didn’t end up turning out, but I want to be very clear here: don’t put this on yourself as something you did. There was no intention, you followed all the instructions that you were told would work. Companies market these incubators as safe, ready to set up and go. Stuff happens, in this case it was likely a combination of factors you couldn’t have necessarily forseen.
I also want to make sure you know you’re not even close to the first person to have an incubator issue end up in the loss of a clutch. Even the most prepared setup can still malfunction and cause stuff like this to happen, it’s not your fault. I’ve seen people lose a whole season’s worth of clutches when larger incubators malfunction. What you can do now is just prepare for next year. It’s an opportunity to learn, troubleshoot, and improve.
I know it’s tough, but try not to be too hard on yourself. We’re all here for ya.
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Oh dear, I’m so sorry. It’s so disappointing to be looking forward to them hatching and then they don’t.
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Awwww. Sorry to hear it.
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I’m so sorry that this happened. 
It’s not your fault, @shadowspiderjack. You did what you were supposed to do, doing your research and following directions on products. Several things then happened at the same time, combining and causing these unfortunate results. It’s really sad, and I know it’s very much human nature to blame yourself but please try to let go of any guilt. Mechanical things malfunction and there no way to predict it. Often there’s no adjusting for it. I know of several folks who have lost clutches, even a whole season’s worth in a big commercial setup. I do realize that this is a whole season’s worth for you. It’s not your fault. Sending hugs and love and prayers.
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Thank you that helps a lot. Ill definitely order that thermostat ready for next year to prevent the overheating issue. And with that hopefully it goes much better.
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Im a little glad that Cindy and Fugolion didnt pair now since it likely would have been a loss of 2 clutches instead of 1. But hopefully with what ive learnt next year goes a lot better. I might also try to pair both Fugolion and cindy together again despite her showing no interest in him this year.
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There’s certainly no harm in trying again if you like. I have had two females lay recently. One was paired early this year, but the other was a complete surprise. Point being, it is later in the year but they might be in breeding mode anyway.
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I still would like to get a successful clutch from ember and magmar which was the pairing for this clutch but since it was embers first time laying I think it woulf be better to give her time to rest until next year rather than pair her again.
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I agree, I would give Ember the rest of the season to fully recover from her first laying season. I think that is wise of you.
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Hey @shadowspiderjack , I wanted to chime in here. First, I’m so sorry for your loss. I want to echo that it’s not your fault. Things do go wrong sometimes, unfortunately, but the way you handle the situation and move forward is very important. You’re doing a great job of taking advice from everyone here and making those changes and making this a learning opportunity. I applaud you for that, instead of giving up.
I lost a whole ball python clutch and I was beating myself up over it too. I finally forgave myself and consider it to be my learning experience. I don’t ever plan on breeding (mine was from retained sperm from a pairing before I bought her so a huge surprise), but it was nonethelessa heartbreaking.
I sincerely hope that your next clutch is a huge success. Take care!
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