Are my gauges broken?

Im not sure why, but as of late, I've had an incredibly hard time keeping it cool and humid for my ball. I got a humidity gauge not too long ago, and I was keeping the humidity between 50-60%. I also have some reptimoss which I occasionally mist or soak. 3/4s of the tank is covered by a damp towel, and I had to mist at the most, once a day to keep levels consistent. The temperature was also consistent around 85-90 throughout the day.

However, lately I've been having a problem that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. Im having to mist his tank probably 20 times a day, jumping the humidity to 70% - there is clearly condensation inside the tank, and in the substrate - but despite this, my humidity gauge jumps back down to 20% humidity within minutes after misting. On top of that, my thermometer constantly reads between 100-105 degrees. I thought it was a problem with substrate, so I changed to that fine coconut stuff, but it hasn't seemed to help anything. I covered the tanks lid earlier with aluminum foil to see if that would help any, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

I have noticed that when I take him out of his tank, he is rather warm to the touch, which is unusual. But I'm a really cold person, so it could just be me. He is eating fine, bowel movements are okay, he isn't soaking or jumping between hides (he stays in his warm hide 24/7) so should I really be all that concerned? I'm deathly afraid of him getting an RI, which he isn't showing any signs of. Should I just try replacing my gauges? Gah.

Are you using analog thermometers or digital ones with probes?

Analogs are notoriously inaccurate.

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

Are you using analog thermometers or digital ones with probes?

Analogs are notoriously inaccurate.

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Both are analog, a zoomed thermo strip and a meter humidity gauge from petco. Nothing fancy.

The strip thermometer is telling the temp of the glass more than the air temp. It is not what you need.

The analog humidity gauge can take awhile to accurately tell the humidity. That is if it is accurate at all. Most the el cheapo ones at the pet stores are junk.

Order a accurite from amazon. They are about $13 bucks and though not always spot on they will give you a much better idea of your numbers. They can usually be found at WalMart too.

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Originally Posted by KMG

The strip thermometer is telling the temp of the glass more than the air temp. It is not what you need.

The analog humidity gauge can take awhile to accurately tell the humidity. That is if it is accurate at all. Most the el cheapo ones at the pet stores are junk.

Order a accurite from amazon. They are about $13 bucks and though not always spot on they will give you a much better idea of your numbers. They can usually be found at WalMart too.

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OR... spend 8.99 at reptile basics and get a much better reading than the very INACCURATE accurite ones... http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermom...l-thermometer/

I have previously used the accurite ones and they are definitely hit or miss. I got a batch of the good ones, fortunately, but do not recommend them. RBI has much better ones.

That's your problem right there

Makes a lot of sense, I'll definitely replace the thermometer. Should I find a replacement for the humidity gauge as well, or just keep the current one?

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Originally Posted by j. cooper

I have previously used the accurite ones and they are definitely hit or miss. I got a batch of the good ones, fortunately, but do not recommend them. RBI has much better ones.

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You got a good batch but wouldn't recommend them? What turned you off from them? I have one of the ones you suggested and would not say its any better than a Accurite. Its just another cheap thermometer. With any electronic device as cheap as both of these you are going to sometimes get a bad one. I have three Accurites and have not had any problems and they all have checked out when testing them with my cigar humidor gauge.

With the Accurite you get two temp zones and humidity monitored for $13. With the other suggestion you get one zone monitored for $9 or two for $18, you have to pay shipping, plus you can not monitor humidity which will call for spending more money on another device. So now you have three devices instead of one nice neat package.

If you buy them at Walmart and they turn out way to inaccurate just exchange it for another.

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Originally Posted by j. cooper

OR... spend 8.99 at reptile basics and get a much better reading than the very INACCURATE accurite ones... http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermom...l-thermometer/

I have previously used the accurite ones and they are definitely hit or miss. I got a batch of the good ones, fortunately, but do not recommend them. RBI has much better ones.

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Oh really? Is that why mine reads less than half a degree off from my Herpstat 2?

Any piece of technology is going to be 'hit and miss' to a degree. It's always possible for something to end up calibrated wrong or for there to be some wiring issue. That applies to everything. I have absolutely no doubt that someone has gotten one of the reptile basics ones and it was calibrated wrong or dead out of the box.

There is going to be some variation with any cheap thermometer. I have a bunch of accurites and they work great. I've had a couple of those thermometers from reptile basics and they have all died. They were good while they lasted and I would buy more, but not for $9 a piece. I've seen them much cheaper elsewhere.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_...nid=2941120011

I use my temp gun for the most part and I have a few random thermometers around just to keep an eye on things.