Should I trust my thermostat, air thermometer, or infrared thermometer?

[SharkLasers]

I'm getting different readings on my various temperature reading methods. Which should I trust more?
Here are the stats for my cool side:

• Thermometer inside the hide: 75
• Thermostat set to: 85
• Infrared thermometer pointed at the cage floor (newspaper): 76
• Infrared thermometer pointed at the snake: 78
• Infrared thermometer pointed at the roof of the hide (plastic): 76

[Crowfingers]

I have the exact same kind of discrepancies in all my devices as well - so most thermometers measure the "air" temperature, the infrared gun measures the "surface" temperature.

Does the thermostat have it's own thermometer probe between the mat and the bottom of the the enclosure? if so this is measuring the temp of the heat mat, which may need to be slightly raised to warm the inside of the enclosure. But as long as the cool side is between 78-82 (air and surface) and the hot side is between 87-90 (air and surface) then you should be fine. Your snake my not always be the same temp as where ever he is sitting - they retain heat better than newspaper lol and may be a few degrees warmer or cooler depending on where they have been resting

For your question, I usually trust my IR gun the most, I can measure ice cubes and boiling water to make sure it is mostly accurate. I still use digital thermometers to make sure my ambient air temp stays higher than 78 (my preference) and that the surface temps in his hides are proper. But the digital thermometers are almost always 1.8 to 2.2*F different from my IR gun

[Zincubus]

What kind of thermometer are you using. ??




Ps . These ten dollar digital temp guns are fabulous for taking random surface temps .




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[dakski]

I trust my temp gun the most. I spent good money on a top of the line one, but you do not need to.

Hit your home thermostat, or a trusted thermomoter in your room (not in the reptile tank).

See what the temp gun reads. See what the thermometer says. Adjust. And aim for the same distance (i.e. substrate to heat gun and thermometer to heat gun).

For example, if the thermometer or thermostat says 70F, and the temp gun says 71F, adjust whatever reading you get in tank down by 1F.

Temp guns can fluctuate with different environment temps and distance from reading area. I "calibrate" like this regularly, especially if I have to adjust a thermostat. Remember, the thermostat gets its reading from the probe(s). Ground temp is most important for snakes. I do hit the wall of the tank in the back, middle section, where there are no heating elements, to get ambient air temp. However, I hit all over the tank (about 5 spots regularly) to test ground temps. I have a whole system. The farther away you are from the spot you are reading, the less accurate. I aim for about 3-5 inches distance tops (and also a clear shot/angle like straight up and down). Most reliable up close. If I shoot across the tank, even a few feet, it can easily be a degree to two off, if not more.

Thermostats can read X, but ground temps can be different. For example, I have all my snakes in 6X2X1' Boaphile enclosures. All have a RHP and flex watt heat tape on the hot side and only smaller flex watt heat tape on the cool side. Keep in mind these are large tanks, so I need multiple readings (about every 12-15 inches or so and ALWAYS on/under heat sources). On the hot side, my thermostat for my BCI and BP (stacked one on top of the other and identical heating elements) reads 84F (in my BP tank where the two probes are - it's a redundant thermostat so one probe per thermostat). However, that is air temp about 7 inches from the ground just below the RHP (both the RHP and the flex watt on the hot side runs off the same thermostat(s). However, at the ground, right on the heat tape, it's about 89F. It runs from 87-90F depending on where on the flex watt I hit, but averages about 89F.

The point is, you want to know what the temp is where the snake is, on the ground, especially for hot and cool side temps (not saying you should neglect ambient temps - these are important too). Temp guns are best at this. They are also excellent if you have a big UTH/flexwatt, etc. because the temp is rarely uniform over them. There will be a (hopefully) small range. So the thermostat may read 84F, but 3 inches away, it could be 88F, or 82F, etc. They also give instant readings. That's very helpful!

[SharkLasers]

What kind of thermometer are you using. ??




Ps . These ten dollar digital temp guns are fabulous for taking random surface temps .




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The thermometer is a digital fridge thermometer. I already have an infrared thermometer, I said that in my post.

[CloudtheBoa]

It's not a matter of which to trust most, they all do different things. So long as all are good quality, use every one of the devices. Thermometers measure your ambients and temp guns the surface temp. Thermometers aren't as important if you're using something like a UTH or heat tape, but temps guns are mandatory here since neither efficiently raise ambient temps and instead focus on providing a hot spot. Temp guns aren't as important if you're using an ambient heater like a CHE or RHP, but can be useful to have on hand anyways.


Keep in mind, thermostats do NOT measure temperatures. They're meant to control your devices, your thermometers and temp guns do all the measuring, and you set the thermostat so that the temp gun and/or thermometer read appropriate temps. For example, in my T12's I have my thermostat set to 83F so that I get a hot area of 88-90F and ambients of 80-85F. If I set it to 90F, my snakes could easily overheat. In my heat tape set ups I may have to set the tape to 93F to get a 90F hot spot.

[SharkLasers]

My thermostat has a digital readout of the temperature of the probe. The probe is sandwiched between the glass and the heating pad.

[Zincubus]

My thermostat has a digital readout of the temperature of the probe. The probe is sandwiched between the glass and the heating pad.

As you may already know ... the trouble with that reading is that it may not be the temp of the Viv surface where your snake is lying ... that's the crucial temp best taken with a digital heat gun or a thermometer with a wired probe ...

So , of course the fridge one will only give an ambient air temp ( and a rough one at that possibly as they're not generally very accurate ) .


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