Just got a temp gun, what do you think

[Seiryu]

So I just got my first temp gun today, and it seems my digital thermometer has been off (although not in dangerous ranges or anything).

I checked my basilisk's basking spot and found it went up to 101 F. Which is fine as they can regulate what they get heat wise as they can go up or down a ramp. Moving it an inch down the ramp, the temp was at 97 F.

I use a 50 watt in their enclosure.

They each have a ramp for the basking spots. Verde is sitting at the 95-101 spot range at the top left of picture.

Anyways, so those 50 watts in an enclosed enclosure got to 101 F. And it's by no means small. (6x4x5 and each have 3x4x5)

So I go to check Thor's (75 watt basking bulb). It only got to 91 F! Whereas my digital was saying 96 F. So a 75 watt bulb (completely open though, not enclosed) was 10 degrees less than a 50watt in an enclosed area.

Does this seem about right, because even though it's a spacious enclosed enclosure, because Thor's is in the open, it's going to be a lot less?

Maybe my lamp fixture just isn't that great anymore? I got some new fixtures today, so I'm going to try to see if that alone does increase the temps, otherwise I'm going to assume I need a 100w for Thor.

I did lower the basking spot in Thor's by 4-5" but it only increased the temps by 2 degrees.

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Quick Update: Well, Thor just did me the honor of sitting right underneath the basking spot. I checked the temp on his shell, it was 97 degrees. Is this the number I should go by when checking temps or should I go by substrate level?

 

[Tom]

All the stuff you described sounds normal. I had a 50 watt spot over my hatchlings. It rested on a screen top and stayed 100-105. I moved them to a new, bigger tank and had to hang the lamp. At the same height, but without the screen, it was around 140 degrees! Glad I actually checked it before I put them in there. I had to raise it another 4-5" without the screen.

Those temp guns are great. I've got two different types. I also use an assortment of digital and analog thermometers too. Scary how inconsistent some of them can be.

 

[Seiryu]

All the stuff you described sounds normal. I had a 50 watt spot over my hatchlings. It rested on a screen top and stayed 100-105. I moved them to a new, bigger tank and had to hang the lamp. At the same height, but without the screen, it was around 140 degrees! Glad I actually checked it before I put them in there. I had to raise it another 4-5" without the screen.

Those temp guns are great. I've got two different types. I also use an assortment of digital and analog thermometers too. Scary how inconsistent some of them can be.

Thanks Tom. Turns out, I just needed that basking area time to adjust. Adjusting and then trying it 5 minutes later wasn't enough time. I let it sit for about 25 minutes, went back and the basking spot is now 98 F.

 

[tortoisenerd]

You should need to constantly adjust the bulb up and down, because based on slight room temperature and even humidity changes, the temperature in the enclosure changes. You want to measure at the substrate level, and realize that at the tort's mid section it is slightly higher. So, I am for 95 F at the substrate so its around 100 where my tort is. He will usually bask very close to but not at the hottest point, so I see that as a good thing that he can get a bit hotter if I am not quick enough to adjust the bulb down for him, but it shouldn't ever get to a dangerous level. MVBs can take a couple hours or more to get to the hottest temp (similar to how the sun rises in the morning, so I see this as a good thing), so make sure to take your temps midday and when you house is the warmest too if you don't have your heat/air conditioning running all the time. We don't use heat or a/c at our house (only a space heater except a few times a year as we live in a temperate climate and don't have a/c), so I have to adjust my bulb a lot. I try to measure the temps every other day. Every bulb you get will be different too--you can't just replace the bulb and install it at the same height without checking. Being off by 5-10 degrees is a lot when keeping torts. For example, I installed a replacement bulb once and meant to check the temps once it warmed up, but forgot for a couple days, and my basking spot was about 8 degrees colder than with the old bulb.

Glad you got a temp gun! So important in my opinion. Being aware of temps is vital to keeping torts. Also measure the moderate and low temps in the enclosure so you know what your low temp is, and what temps the various hides are, to ensure you have all temperatures available for hides, and see that you have a good range throughout the enclosure. There are different adjustments you can make with different fixtures (larger or smaller diameter) or placement of the bulb to get more or less of certain temps in the gradient.

 

[Seiryu]

MVBs can take a couple hours or more to get to the hottest temp (similar to how the sun rises in the morning, so I see this as a good thing), so make sure to take your temps midday and when you house is the warmest too if you don't have your heat/air conditioning running all the time. We don't use heat or a/c at our house (only a space heater except a few times a year as we live in a temperate climate and don't have a/c), so I have to adjust my bulb a lot. I try to measure the temps every other day.

Ya. I don't use AC in the summer usually. The house is really well insulated and the temps stay around 70-80 in the summer and then I run a space heater in the tort/lizard rooms in fall/winter to keep the temps at 70-80. So all year long, the lowest is 70ish