Major incubation failure

Hello there. I would appreciate some advice.

My husband and I recently had our very first clutch of BP eggs. I've been so excited, as I've been raising up my males and females since babies and working hard to make sure everyone was fit and ready for the last 3 years.
A couple days ago my normal female (bred to a banana and a champagne) laid 9 beautiful, perfect eggs for the very first time. No slugs! Thrilled, I placed them in our incubator.
We were rushed in doing this because we had guests and were scheduled to go out of town for an overnight trip with them. Because of that, somehow the thermostat never got plugged in and when I checked on the eggs right when we got back I was absolutely devastated to find the incubator reading at about 135 degrees. To say I'm crushed about it would be an understatement... I feel like all that hard work has been wasted and I feel awful that one of my females gave so much effort only for our idiocy in that one moment to seemingly ruin it all.
To top it all off, I candled the eggs right after and each one had gorgeous veins. They were perfect!
Is there any possible chance of them being okay now that we've corrected our temps? The eggs look fine, but there was a smell that I'm not sure is normal as this is our first clutch.
Should I continue to incubate them at all or just toss them?

Thanks.

Oh wow...that's just awful. :tears: I doubt there's any way they'll survive, but you could always wait & see. I have a feeling "the smell" will clarify the issue though...

Candle them and see. We all make mistakes. Don't dwell on it too long and move on to the future.

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Originally Posted by the_vs_herps

Should I continue to incubate them at all or just toss them?

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Definitely incubate them. You have nothing to lose except at this point except a little electricity. If you see any/all of them discolor in the next few days-toss them.

This would be a tough call for me. I don't know if this is the same with BP's, because my breeding experience was always with tortoises, but I remember that if you incubated too hot there was a tremendous risk of birth defects if they survived and hatched. But, my gut instinct is that unfortunately it's unlikely the eggs survived the temperature. I would probably give it a week or two and make a call based on candling and smell.

But on the bright side, you have what is arguably the more challenging piece of the equation figured out. You got them to breed and lay viable eggs. If you wish to breed animals you have to accept that outcomes are unfortunately not always pleasant.

They are fried at that temperature.
135 is roasting hot
No way they survived imo.

I highly doubt they will hatch at all, and like someone else mentioned, I'd be really worried about the risk of potential birth defects as well...

I candled them once and saw perfect veins. If the eggs went on to die would the veins then disappear?

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Originally Posted by the_vs_herps

I highly doubt they will hatch at all, and like someone else mentioned, I'd be really worried about the risk of potential birth defects as well...

I candled them once and saw perfect veins. If the eggs went on to die would the veins then disappear?

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Defects seem likely if they survive, but yes veins will disappear & before that, they'll be smelling bad & drawing flies...sorry. Hope for now, but be prepared for reality.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Defects seem likely if they survive, but yes veins will disappear & before that, they'll be smelling bad & drawing flies...sorry. Hope for now, but be prepared for reality.

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Thanks. :) If it were you, would you just stop incubation now?

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Originally Posted by the_vs_herps

Thanks. :) If it were you, would you just stop incubation now?

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No, I give everything a chance until proven otherwise. ;) You'll know soon enough.

Thanks for the advice! 👍

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Originally Posted by the_vs_herps

Thanks for the advice! 👍

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If you stopped incubating now, you'd always wonder "what if...???" At least I would!

I just checked on the eggs. The smell has gone down significantly. I candled them all again and they a still have great veins. The eggs are a bit sunken, which I assume is just from the initial heat up stealing a lot of their overall moisture, so I added some damp sphagnum moss around them to see if that helps. There are a couple spots where I'm guessing condensation dripped down, so I've removed the wrap I had underneath the lid to prevent more.
We will see what happens!

Good luck! :gj: It's a real long shot, but hey? what do you have to lose?

It's like they say about the lottery...ya can't win if ya don't play.