Hiya!
I'm a new tortoise owner to 2 Mediterranean spur-thigh hatchlings, and I'm after some advice about basking temps.
We have a combi bulb in their table, and have a digital probe thermometer directly under the lamp on the substrate, we also have a laser heat gun.
The temps measured on the digital thermometer are a lower than those on the heat gun, by 2 or 3°, only just about reaching 31° later in the day. Using the heat gun some outer sections of the basking area are a lot higher than directly underneath, sometimes going too high, about 35° close to where they they lie.
Which of the temperatures should I go by, as I know the digital thermometer is measuring the air temp rather than the surface temp like the heat gun.
Should I be lowering the bulb so the centre reaches the correct temp, risking some of the edges surface temps going even higher?
Thanks in advance, sorry for the long post!
I'm a new tortoise owner to 2 Mediterranean spur-thigh hatchlings, and I'm after some advice about basking temps.
We have a combi bulb in their table, and have a digital probe thermometer directly under the lamp on the substrate, we also have a laser heat gun.
The temps measured on the digital thermometer are a lower than those on the heat gun, by 2 or 3°, only just about reaching 31° later in the day. Using the heat gun some outer sections of the basking area are a lot higher than directly underneath, sometimes going too high, about 35° close to where they they lie.
Which of the temperatures should I go by, as I know the digital thermometer is measuring the air temp rather than the surface temp like the heat gun.
Should I be lowering the bulb so the centre reaches the correct temp, risking some of the edges surface temps going even higher?
Thanks in advance, sorry for the long post!