Big surprise with IR temp gun

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Originally Posted by MrLang

One thing to consider is the snake sitting on top of that paper towel. The surface where the snake isn't sitting might be 85 in my tubs, but if I move a snake off a spot and shoot it with the gun, now we're at 90 or 91 even.

Something else to consider, especially with paper substrates that are prone to trapping air in weird ways.

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I'll have to try that: moving her off and then measuring the temp right at the spot where she was sitting.

It did occur to me that the air between the paper towel layers was warmer because of the insulating effect of the top layer, but either way, it throws off the usefulness of the thermometer probe quite a bit.

More experimentation to follow!

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Just thought I'd re-visit this topic and share some info I was told by a reputable breeder I purchased a bp from. We talked about rack temps and our temps were within a degree or so from front to rear in general, but he said he is mainly concerned with a range of about ~10F hot to cold side and measuring the actual body temp of the snake in 3-4 places. He finds a body temp of 85-86F is ideal. If you give the snake a 10F range in the tub, it will regulate it's body temp accordingly. 82F- 92F is about where I'm at on average from cold to hot side in my racks. Most of my snakes are sitting around 86F- 86.5F since I've started checking body temps.

If you chase rack temps you will go nuts. Check your rack temps right as the thermostat kicks on... that should be the coldest your rack is. Then check it just as the thermostat kicks off.... that should be about the hottest your rack gets. You will find a variation of ~3-4F just in thermostat cycling.

I always use a IR temp gun just because you never know.

I know this is an older thread, but I was searching around becuse I just picked up an IR temp gun myself.

I too was surprised to find differences. My acurite thermometer wasn't too far off, which is good news. Both it and my IR gun were reading the UTH temp of about 90F.

The problem I found with the temp gun is that there is a wide range of temperatures within the UTH. Some areas read as low as 86F and others closer to 96F. Most of it though was right around 90F. It wasn't even like the center was warmer. One of the edges to the right of the cord was reading the higher temps.