Walmart Thermometer

[FAIL]

I just bought a wal-mart indoor outdoor thermometer, the outdoor part is a 10' probe, how long should i hold the probe under the basking light to get the right temp...it just gets hotter and hotter lol...is it the thermometer or what?

 

[xanthoman]

i would twist tie it to the branch at least until the reading stabilizes, it could be that your temps are way hotter than you think they are, as long as you remove the probe before the reading stabilizes then you will never know what the reading is

 

[jojackson]

Does it say 'ACME' on the side?

Get a better one, most quality thermometers take a reading relatively quickly and will probably be more accurate. Never liked probe types too much. Not really so suitable. Try to get a good temp gun maybe. make sure its reading range suits your needs though.

http://www.tempgun.com/main.html

this one looks good

http://www.tempgun.com/specs.html#pe3

 

[FAIL]

that is rediculously expensive compared to 12.99...but i need one of those anyways :/ just cant afford it right now? what's the big difference between the two?

 

[jojackson]

The difference might be a cooked chameleon mate! Dont get cheap!

temp gun FAQ

http://www.tempgun.com/FAQ.html#1

 

[FAIL]

lol i know i read them , temp ranges...well my cham now is under a 100 watt basking bulb , but its raised up(let me walk over and measure..11 inches from the top of cage and his basking spot is like 4.5'' from the top...and hes been alive for forever i think he'll be alright, but i need a new thermometer besides the cage i have for his new cage im in the proc. of finishing . just waiting on the reptisun 5.0 i bought from lllreptile earlier today for 26 dollars.....17.99+$9.00 shipping .

 

[jojackson]

lol i know i read them , temp ranges...well my cham now is under a 100 watt basking bulb , but its raised up(let me walk over and measure..11 inches from the top of cage and his basking spot is like 4.5'' from the top...and hes been alive for forever i think he'll be alright,

Hey well you asked! Its your lizard, but I seem to remember somebody else said that till their lizard climbed on the screen beneath the light and got some nasty thermal burns for its trouble. It was fine long before then too. Accuracy with temp is just as important as with light, humidity or other enviromentals.
Just be careful and expect the unexpected if that is possible.
Have fun with your new cage.

 

[FAIL]

thanks will do, i've tried 3 different thermometers, never had a probe before.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

For a sanity check, stick the back of your hand at the basking spot. Hold it there for a few minutes and if it doesn't feel too warm then you probably won't accidentally cook your chameleon to the point of burns .

 

[tatted1]

The reptisun 5.0 is only $21.99 at Petco and $38.99 at Petsmart not sure why theres such a big gap between the 2 stores.At any rate $21.99 and no shipping is still cheaper than $26.00.