Me again.... Temps question

[Laura starkey]

I'm backbagain with another question.
I've read that Dave my horsefield should have temps of 90 - 95F and some people say 100F?!
What are the correct temps.
I'm struggling with my temp gun as every time I take temp it has a different reading. It's really fluctuating so I don't know what the correct temp is:
I've been aiming the gun at her basking spot at around 2 inches away.... it's very hot in here today so I'm guessing that might alter things? Help!

 

[daniellenc]

90-100 is fine for basking. Where are you aiming the temp gun? I would hold in two inches above the ground under the basking spot for basking temps and continue down your enclosure to see the range of temps.

 

[Laura starkey]

90-100 is fine for basking. Where are you aiming the temp gun? I would hold in two inches above the ground under the basking spot for basking temps and continue down your enclosure to see the range of temps.

Yes I'm holding 2 inches above her basking spot..... I'm not sure how long to hold the trigger in as the temps change the longer I hold it. Maybe I'm just being thick! Lol!

 

[Tom]

I'm backbagain with another question.
I've read that Dave my horsefield should have temps of 90 - 95F and some people say 100F?!
What are the correct temps.
I'm struggling with my temp gun as every time I take temp it has a different reading. It's really fluctuating so I don't know what the correct temp is:
I've been aiming the gun at her basking spot at around 2 inches away.... it's very hot in here today so I'm guessing that might alter things? Help!

There are four temperatures to measure and maintain: Warm side, cool side, basking area, and overnight low.

The basking area directly under the basking bulb is the only area of the enclosure that should be 95-100. The best way to measure the basking temp is to place a rock or brick that is about the height of the tortoise directly under the bulb, and then place the probe from your digital thermometer on top of that. Let it sit and cook for an hour or two. Then, adjust the height of the bulb up or down to get the correct temperature.

This basking bulb is meant to simulate the sun when they are indoors. In the wild, if they felt too cool, they would look for a patch of sunshine and go bask in it. In the wild this patch of sunshine might get much warmer than 100 degrees depending on season and ambient temps. Imagine using your temp gun on a rock sitting in the sun in a warm climate like Afghanistan where russians come from. I've gotten readings over 160 degrees in our summer sun here. Of course the tortoise will move back to the shade when his internal temp is warm enough. The problem is that our artificial incandescent bulbs are very desiccating to the air, substrate and tortoises carapace. They need this over head heat source to simulate the sun, but we want to keep the detrimental effects to a minimum. This is why we don't just put a super hot bulb that gets the substrate up to 150 degrees like the sun would do in there. 95-100 is hot enough for the tortoise to warm up and function properly. Making it hotter than that just increases the desiccating effect, and offers no additional benefit to the tortoise.

Temp guns are good for measuring surface temps for some applications, but regular thermometers are better for most of what we need in our indoor enclosures.

Do you have a flat rock under your basking lamp? If not, and you are trying to take readings off of the irregular surface of the substrate, this could account for your variations. The infrared temp gun will pick up a multitude of different readings based on heigh of the substrate particles, dampness and evaporation, and also the pattern of "hot spots" that your individual bulb gives off. It takes all these readings and "averages" them all. That is why as the gun moves around ever so slightly, the reading changes.

 

[Markw84]

Most IR temperature guns are designed to be used at about 12" away. That will give you a reading of the average temperature of a 1" diameter area where you are pointing the gun. At 2" away it is reading a very small, 1/8" diameter area. That can give you a quite variable reading depending upon the type of material and its color. 1/2" away a lighter, less dense material could be 5-10° cooler in its reading. Shooting a basking rock of slate will give a much higher reading than the orchid bark substrate, etc. So a 1" diameter reading is a better way to judge. The gun I use has a 16 : 1 reading ratio. So 16" away it reads a 1" diameter circle. Most guns are about 12 : 1 as I mentioned. My gun is made so if I shoot and immediately release it keeps the reading that it made when I pulled the trigger. If I keep the trigger pulled, it will constantly change as I move the target over different areas. As soon as you release, it will hold the last reading.

 

[Laura starkey]

The heat lamp is over a large flat basking rock...... thank you for the info on the gun, mine is a 12:1 so I should shoot at around 12" away?
I didn't realise you have to leave the digital probe thermometer under the heat for so long, so I will do that tomorrow.
Thanks for the responses, it's really helped!