Question about reading temps

[L.West]

I have an ap t8 cage with indented craft paper as substrate. 80 watt rhp for heat.

My question is, should i trust the temperature read out on my accurite or go with what my temp gun says??

My accurite will say 89 degrees but when i hit the surface of my cage floor with my temp gun it says 95 which is too warm.

Should i adjust my temps according to what the temp gun says??

Thanks

[PitOnTheProwl]

I would drop a couple degrees.

[L.West]

Ok thanks i can do that. But should I rely on my temp gun over the accurite??

[Coluber42]

Your temp gun is measuring the surface temp; acurite is presumably sitting where its sensor is measuring the air temp. I bet if you point the temp gun at the back of the acurite unit or some surface that's shaded from the RHP you'll get a reading closer to the acurite.

[L.West]

Yes that is correct. So what your saying is that the rhp is heating up the foor of the tank nut I shouldn't worry about that because the air temp is spot on via the accurite.

Is my understanding correct

[redshepherd]

Whether or not you're worrying about the surface vs. air temp, I've been told that the Acurite is not actually as accurate as people make it out to be LOL. So we would rather trust the temp gun over the acurite, assuming you have a reliable temp gun.

I had a zoo med temp gun that broke so quickly, and was inaccurate up to 20 degrees! So I trashed it.

[L.West]

I have a high quality temp gun so i will let that be my guide.

Thanks for the help.

[Coluber42]

If a 90 degree hot spot is what you are going for, shoot for the surface temperature being 90 degrees. If the RHP heats the floor to 90, it will also heat the snake if the snake is sitting in that spot - because the snake is getting the heat (via IR radiation from the warm heat panel) that the floor would be getting otherwise. The air temp will always be a bit cooler than the floor because the air is mostly transparent to infrared radiation, so it gets warmed either by contact with the warm floor or by contact with the warm RHP itself. The warmer air rises and circulates away and draws cooler air into contact with the warmer surfaces.

[Zincubus]

Whether or not you're worrying about the surface vs. air temp, I've been told that the Acurite is not actually as accurate as people make it out to be LOL. So we would rather trust the temp gun over the acurite, assuming you have a reliable temp gun.

I had a zoo med temp gun that broke so quickly, and was inaccurate up to 20 degrees! So I trashed it.

How much are Zoo MEDs temp guns roughly ?

I've had two 13 dollar ones off eBay for years . Still working great ...

[KMG]

How much are Zoo MEDs temp guns roughly ?

I've had two 13 dollar ones off eBay for years . Still working great ...

$20

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repti...s_a_1_3&sr=8-3