using the infrared temperature gauge

[Jsw]

I have one of those laser guns that check the surface temperature of the various spots in teh vivarium. I'm not sure I trust it though, or at least it doesn't make sense to me at first glance.

I have a spot that was 130*, not ideal but okay since most of the cage is well within the ideal range. However, when I put a towel in to give him some climbing traction (the plastic "steps" I had are too slick and I needed something for him until I can get real furniture), it dropped to 105*. Well, nothing changed in terms of how hot the bulb is, so now I don't know how to trust the reading.

Am I just not thinking clearly about this?! (That's probably the case with 4-5 hours/night sleep the last two weeks.

 

[Skipper7]

We're the steps at 130*? If so, it may just be that the plastic is getting way too hot. You can test it by boiling some water and taking a temp reading on it. Boiling water should read 100*C

 

[CooperDragon]

Sometimes the furniture can absorb heat and get fairly hot if it's right under the light. I'd be sure you're holding the temp gun at the correct distance for readings. The further away you hold it, the wider an area it reads depending on the ratio for the specific gun. I try to get spot readings in my tank from pretty close up, usually a couple few inches.

 

[Jsw]

That's what I mean. It's not the light that's too hot; it's the surface. I hold it about 1-3" away. I worded that inappropriately. I trust the gun; it's accurate and I know how to use it. I don't trust that it's the best way to check his environment.

If the surface can be so dramatically different based on what they are (which totally makes sense - walking on sand is different than walking on grass), how can I be sure the lights are accurate? Obviously I don't want him on too hot surfaces, but what if it's a surface that doesn't absorb heat so it registers as cooler? Then I turn up the lights/heater too much. Or what if it's a surface that does absorb too much heat, so I turn down the lights/heater but he actually needs them brighter/warmer.

 

[CooperDragon]

If you have a good gradient, he'll move around to get what he needs. They're very good at sensing temperatures and moving about. I like to combine the temp gun readings with a digital thermometer and probe. One on the basking site and one on the cool side. This gives me a real time printout of the temperature gradient. If you can get a thermostat, that's even better. That will take the readings from the probes and automatically adjust the lights for you based on the probe inputs.

 

[Jsw]

Okay, thanks. The whole lighting and heating and gradient thing is very stressful. :?

 

[Skipper7]

Yep it can be. Remember that observation is important. If he spends all his time basking, he probably isn't warm enough. If he is always on the cool side, he may be too hot. If you watch for clues you can fine tune temps to just how your dragon likes it.

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree, it takes a bit of doing to get everything fine tuned. Once it's set up though, it's pretty easy to monitor and maintain.