so turns out my thermometer in my incubator was off... by like 10 degrees!

[angelobutter]

I am kicking myself right now.I always use a separate temperature probe in my incubators, but i just didn't this time for some reason. I set up my eggs in the incubator and waited till today(day 52) and when i candled them they seemed to not be as big as I would expect at day 52. so I cut one egg open and the baby is alive but super tiny! so scratching my head I pulled out the temp gun and sure enough, the temp in like 80 in there!!! i bumped it up and am currently working on getting it to a good temp but I am furious! is there any chance my eggs will make it? how much longer should they be in their eggs? what can i do for the poor baby whose egg i cut? ARRGHH!!!
the following is rambling but I left it anyways
now I am scrambling to make sure the temp is ok. my temp gun is saying it is 86, one thermometer says 60 (obviously broken) and one says 90. the incubator itself says it is at 99. I am going crazy the temp gun pointed at my tongue is saying 93 so it is obviously wrong too! what else can go wrong today??!! I can't find a good working thermometer- I am going to put one in with my chicken eggs since they are hatching great so that should tell me what thermometers are working and that should give me an idea for where to set my incubator.

anyone with advice is greatly appreciated

[MootWorm]

Oh no!! That sucks, I hope the little guys make it. I can't give any advice on the babies but may I ask what temp gun you're using? If you're not using one already, I'd recommend the IR guns you can find at Lowes or Home Depot. They're pretty darn accurate and I think in the $30-50 range.

[hypersomniacjoo]

we would love pics

[zach_24_90]

do not bring the temp up too fast! Slow and steady is key. I've seen eggs hatched from 80 it just took them a good two weeks longer to hatch. But if you feel compelled to bring the temps up to normal I'd recommend at most 1-1.5 degrees a day

[zach_24_90]

6 degrees in one a couple hours is a huge spike. These back and forth temps are hurting them more than just leaving it be would have

[angelobutter]

I have pics but it wont let me post them (i think my post count is too low) and I just got chewed out by a different snake breeder who told me I pretty much killed them so I am actually feeling pretty crummy. so to anyone else who wants to make me feel bad - I already feel terrible and am crying.
I am using a zoo med temp gun which I have been informed is junk. everything is junk.
I have the temp stable now, but any hope I had is pretty much gone at this point. I suppose I will update when they do/dont hatch to satisfy people's curiosity.

[don15681]

incubating at 80.5 degrees f, pip at 97 days, when incubating eggs, big changes in either temp or humidity during incubation can cause problems in the egg.

[don15681]

how long has it been since you increased the temps? we all made mistakes, I'm sure I'll make more.

[angelobutter]

about an hour. should I just leave it as is ?

[don15681]

no turn it back down

one hour is nothing