Is my thermometer accurate?

[TwoSixSided]

Another question from me! I tried to purchase the 2 probe Acurite thermometer from Walmart, but they had none in stock. After trips to several stores, I bought a different one by acurite that measures temp and humidity and placed it directly under my basking spot which is a 100W halogen flood light. Do you guys think that it is accurate? It looks like the sensor is on the top of the thermometer, that's where all the holes are.

I left it there for about 2 hours, checking it frequently. In the last hour it was mainly staying at 106F and would dip periodically to 104F, but not for long. The humidity was 25. The cool side was at 75F, is that too cold? Here is a pic of the thermometer inside the enclosure.

 

[diamc]

Actually, the most important temp to monitor is the basking SURFACE temp and the only 2 ways to get that reading is with either an infrared temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end. Not sure where you live but Amazon has the duel probe thermometer: http://smile.amazon.com/Chaney-Instruments-Acu-Rite-Thermometer-Humidity/dp/B001BO8CUE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1419794670&sr=8-4&keywords=chaney+acurite To use it, you place the probe so that it is resting on (touching) the basking log or rock and place the thermometer part way over on the bottom of the cool side. You wait about 45 min to an hr for the temps to stop rising, then the "out" reading will be the basking surface temp and the "in" reading will be the temp of the cool side.

A 100 watt halogen flood throws off a lot of heat, what size is the tank you are using? Right now you're getting the approximate temp on the bottom of the tank so once you place a basking log or rock in there, the temp of the basking spot will be much higher.

We recommend a cool side temp of 78 to 82 degrees so you may find that you need a low wattage household bulb over on the cool side.

 

[TwoSixSided]

Thank you for the reply! I still have to get a basking object, I'm thinking of using a cave so it will be a hide and basking area in one.

I have a 30 gallon tank right now, which is 16" high. I also have the Flukers lamp with a dimmer in case it's too hot.

 

[diamc]

That's good that the clamp lamp has a dimmer as I think you're gonna find that the flood bulb is too hot. If you dim bulbs down too much, it then gives off a yellow hue which isn't bright enough.

Have you gotten a UVB bulb yet?

 

[TwoSixSided]

Yep! I have a Reptisun 10 coming in the mail. This is definitely quite a lot of research and cash for these cute little guys. I've probably put at least 20 hours in so far in the internet trying to get everything I need. I am extremely surprised at the cost of food, costs more then a dog! I've bought a wine cooler and will be using mainly Reptiworms so it will be 50 dollars a month while it's a baby. I wish I could use Dubias but they are illegal here in florida, and I've had enough with crickets after having a pacman frog.

I'm also not sure whether I want the normal colored dragon or a red, so I've been looking at hundreds of images on google too hah, kinda leaning towards the classic look but at the same time my inner hipster kind of wants a different color. I will be ordering from LLLreptile. I guess I'll have to get another fixture for the cold side, so if I dim my basking light then the house bulb will make up for the loss of light.

 

[diamc]

Hi, so you ordered a Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent tube?

You're right, a lot of $ at first but once it's all setup, only upkeep and replacing the UVB about every 6 months.

I get my feeders from here: www.lindasgonebuggie.com She has great prices and some $5.00 cups too. I have used her for yrs.

Let us know what you decide for a beardie. It's very exciting.