Infrared Thermometer

So today i ordered a new Infrared Thermometer online.
http://www.petco.com/product/115362/Zoo-Med-Repti-Temp-Digital-Infrared-Thermometer.aspx?CoreCat=certona-_-ProductListTopRated_Reptile_4-_-Zoo%20Med%20Repti%20Temp%20Digital%20Infrared%20Thermometer-115362
this is the one that i ordered but i didnt order it from Petco. I couldnt beat the deal on it so i thought i would give it a shot. I only spent a total of $12.78 and thats with shipping included. I was just wondering if anyone here on LGF has used this particular product or currently has one and if they could give me there opinions on the product itself? I.E. is it accurate, durable, things like that. Any feedback on it would be greatly appreciated. Either way it goes good or bad like i said i couldnt beat the deal.

Infrared heat guns are supppose to be thee most accurate way of measuring temps, just point and click kinda tool from my understanding. I've never used one but I'm pretty sue there's a review on. Section... kodie if you know for sure could you post a link... also a member rickmoss posted a rather in depth thread as well if I remember correctly. You can use the forum search feature as well, something should come up.

O yea yea ive seen the the in depth thread about them and i to have read alot about it being the best way for temp monitoring but im just curious about this specific model that i just ordered thats all. Wanted to get some personal opinions on it. Just to see whether or not ive wasted my money or not per say even though it wasnt much money

asianpersuasion wrote: Wanted to get some personal opinions on it.

I believe the Review section is actually open for suggestions nowadays. You can suggest this to the Review Super and if a reviewer has this item (or is willing to buy it) then they will give you a lovely Official LGF review on one

I'm actually working on a temp gun review...not for that product, but something different that I purchased online that you can find in a hardware store. Basically the same concept. Keep your eyes peeled...it'll probably be within the first week of December since I'm working on a very large review at the moment for the end of this month.

So i finally got my Digital infrared thermometer and this thing is AWESOME. Its super easy to use. You get a temp reading almost instantly and its very accurate. Im super glad i purchased it

Can you please link to where you bought it for that price??

I sure can. I got it off Ebay actually.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_kw=Zoo+Med+ReptiTemp+Digital+Infrared+Thermometer&_id=370528036202

i have four of these. not that brand, but i do use tempguns EVERY DAY.... i use the pro exotics pe2 and raytek brands. the one thing to keep in mind about the less expensive one is this, the spot ratio. this is how this works. say your gun is a 1:1 spot ratio...this means that at one inch away from what you are temping, you will be reading a one inch circle...so at ten inches away, you are reading a ten inch circle. the higher cost ones will usually have a higher ratio, like 10:1 or 8:1...which an 8:1 means at eight inches away, you will be reading a one inch circle, and at sixteen inches away, you will be reading a two inch circle. that is the major differences in price, that and a few features. not saying the less expensive ones are less accurate, for the most part...i use a 50 dollar pe2 the majority of the time, and i like it more than my 300 dollar raytek! just check it when you get it, here is the best way i have figured out how to see how accurate they are.

get a cup of room temp(or close) water, put it in the freezer...check it every so often. once it starts to crystalize(the very beginning of freezing), temp it with your gun...it should read really close to 32 degrees f. that is the most accurate way i have found to callibrate mine, and i check them every few months.

i can say this, once you use one, you will never go without one! i love them, they are probably my favorite tool as far as husbandry and setups go. i dont think there is a more valuable tool out there as far as keeping reptiles go. i honestly think that these should be one of the FIRST things people buy that are going to, or are keeping any species of reptile....you will love it!

...forgot to mention. the first number in the ratio is the distance, the second is the spot size. 8:1 ...the 8 is the distance, and the 1 is the size of the spot it will read.

I use that exact temp gun and LOVE IT! I have too many reptiles to be buying thermometer after thermometer. Plus I hate having cords all around. I can also check every last inch of my set ups. Without having to move anything around. I like to use it to check the actual temp of my animals too. It's just an awesome device! Probably the best purchase I've made in my herp keeping.

Thanks for the info Rick. I didn't know the exact ratios for them but that makes a ton of sense. I knew the ratio was smaller so I was putting my temp gun actually on the part I was measuring (except when measuring my reptiles temp). So I was putting it on the floor of my tanks to measure the heat pads.

The Temp gun that i got is a 1:1 ratio so Jamie if you have the same one as i do then thats what the ratio is :-D

The only problem I have with temp guns is that you have to open cages and what not to use it. Since I use tubs, I'd have to take off lids and how I set things up is I count on the built up heat due to the holes in the side.