who uses ACCURITE?/ HAVE A BACKUP TEMP GAUGE

[kbro]

I have both the black accurite and a zoo med temp gun. The accurite is reading (only been there for 10 min) 10 degrees hotter than my point and click. Both have new batteries. Does anyone us an accurite that had a really good temp gun? Are both my thermometers defective? Or maybe they really shouldn't be sitting in there for 45 minutes like everyone repeats? And it's still rising while he is sitting happily close to the same spot. I don't know what to think anymore.

 

[Taterbug]

What sort of temp gun do you have and how far away are you measuring from?

45 minutes is to allow the probe to equalize with the surface/heat up from the light the same as the surface. The accurite and similar devises measures the temp of the probe itself.

You can try to measure the temp of something you know for certain, such as measuring a glass thermometer (if you have one) with the temp gun, and it should match.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Enclosures

 

[kbro]

Sorry I guess I'm bad at knowing where to place topics. I said already that I have the a zoo med one:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12465733

Maybe it's really not that accurite but I never had a problem before, it's newer than my accurite probe one. Maybe the probe goes bad after so long? I'm just trying to find out if anyone else had issues. They read the same at lower temperatures but not the basking spot. Also, yes I measure at 2 inches away.

 

[diamc]

My Accurite probe thermometer always reads higher than the temp gun too but I prefer to go by the probe reading because if I adjust the basking temp to the gun reading, my beardie feels too cool & and darkens her colors trying to absorb more heat.

 

[Taterbug]

Sorry, I totally missed that it was the zoomed.
I don't use the probe type, I am basically no help. :silent: The difference probably has something to do with the difference in the materials of the probe and basking spot; and in the different way the two meters function.

 

[kbro]

Wouldn't you adjust it to the gun then? If the probe is higher and you had it had 100, in my situation it would be under what he needs. Also he seems to like it hotter.
As you know he was behaving weird, I got a different basking bulb and he seemed a little more active and happier today. But I moved his old 100 watt to pebbles tank (I has a 150) and she got funky. Has anyone experienced trouble with a faulty basking bulb. They just sat under it looking tired and closing eyes. She did just lay eggs but she was running around the day after and eating, I put her old one back to see if it's that bulb. The bulb is a zoo med basking 100watt.
Sorry I know there are two different subjects now. Oh, btw it was his new bulb setup that I noticed the difference in temperatures. That is the new mini halogen, it looks a little weird but Bam Bam seems to like it with a regular lower wattage bulb toward the center for more light. And it can't be just that light fixture because I checked hers too with her original basking bulb and it read high.

 

[kbro]

It's okay taterbug, it happens. I have a tile there for basking, then next to it at a lower temp (96 ish) is a rock hide and he moved all over to different temps all day. More than he did before. I really think it's that basking bulb but I never had trouble with those with my 1st dragon. I think I should have got a baby, trying to figure out 2 New adults is hard.

 

[Taterbug]

It could be the bulb. The bulb I have now buzzes when it's dimmed at all, and drives pepper nuts. I can't blame him, I stuck my head in the tank and it's annoying! I had to move the fixture around so it doesn't need to be dimmed at all.

I'm with diamc as far adjust it to what the dragon likes. I check temps to make sure I'm in the ball park, and check ones of one surface against another. I probably never know the actual temp is, but if he like spot a, and it's 10 degrees cooler than spot b, and he avoids spot b, spot b is probably too hot. I aim for a spot that will cause him to gape a little (not a lot) and one near by that's a few degrees cooler. It still lands between 95-110 so I leave the rest up to him.

 

[kbro]

Yeah, I've now been doing that with both of them. Letting them choose and making sure there is a good gradient. They are both about 2 and the breeder that had them kept a basking of 120 but then Bam Bam seemed dehydrated so I dropped it, I'm thinking his body might have gotten used to the higher option, I'm not sure though. I'll just make sure he's hydrated that's a pain too.
I'm pretty sure the bulb is partly to blame for some things, she is more awake today after switching back to her old one. I didn't hear any sounds or anything so idk what's wrong with it. Just my luck though.

 

[kbro]

Well I thought I would update this, the thermometer took a turn for the worse. I knew it was done for when it read -40 for basking temp! I'm am so glad I wasn't trusting the probe and was reading the basking spot with the temp gun. The humidity reading and indoor was fine so Im pretty sure the wire or probe wore out. I've had it for a few years so I'm not surprised really, although it's possible my darn cat got a hold of it though I didn't see any marks. I went and got the same one since it was inexpensive and one of my cats demolished a more expensive reptile one that read temp as well as humidity before. Also I was happy with it up until that point, the readings were a little different but not 15 degrees or more and never -40 before. Plus its the same accu rite that tons of people use here. I guess I freaked out thinking somehow I was measuring wrong or something even though before I was doing fine for years and even not long before the malfunction lol.

This experience has made me very, very grateful that I purchased the temp gun or there could have been more damage. I had the probe in place and checked every couple days or so with the temp gun. I had cleaned out the tank and was checking everything when the big difference was noticed. Now I'm paranoid and double check at least once a day. It's a very good idea to have a temp gun or even another thermometer to make sure there isn't significant differences that way you know if one is going bad, though it might be difficult to tell which one is. A warning though, the probe did test fine at lower temps at first, the only significant difference was the basking spot until it read -40.