Broken Thermometer

So, I just got home about 30 minutes ago and I was starting to relax, and I noticed what honestly, to me, smelled like rubber.
I happen to notice Steve's thermometers out of the corner of my eye, and one is completely red, all the way up to 100. His thermometer has broken, somehow, and the red stuff inside is what I'm smelling.
There aren't any stains on any of his things, nor are there red stains on his substrate, and it only started to leak when I moved it.

What could have caused this thing to break? He's a climber, yes, but the thermometers aren't where he usually climbs and he's never managed to knock them down. I'm thinking that it was just a bad thermometer, in which case I'm going to spring for a different kind.
My thermometers are tubing with red liquid, held inside metal strips. I can't remember brand name off the top of my head, unfortunately.


EDIT:
Okay, the liquid is probably alcohol dyed red. How do I get the smell off my hands? It stinks.

Why was that style of thermometer in the cage in the first place?

Without knowing exactly what was in it we can't tell you what to do. Many times these types of thermometers has toxic of irritating chemicals inside them. I would wash any skin that came into contact with the liquid for 5-10 minutes to make sure that all of it is off, and replace the thermometer with one that is much better suited for the application.

It was unfortunately the best kind we could get our hands on at the time. The suppliers around here don't know exotic animals worth anything. Aside from offering the little temperature strips, this was as good as it was going to get.
We have located a better place for supplies...
Since the liquid has an odor(a very distinct one!) and doesn't 'bead', I have to assume it's probably ethyl alcohol with red dye. They weren't particularly expensive...
I'll be able to get some new in a few days, so I'm going to remove the other one just in case.

I got my thermometers from Walmart. Pet store stuff is usually crap.