If placed on a gerbil's stomach, will it read an average temp? Accuracy isn't important, I breed and need to see temp differences to check for fever.
333765
We used them on 50 animals per day in our clinic. Accuracy was good. As others have said, don't touch the skin, just point it close.My biggest problem was that the plastic plunger behind the center button broke after a while, rendering the instrument useless. But I doubt you will give it the volume of use we did.
333766
I checked our toy Pomeranian on her stomach. Never got an accurate reading. It seemed to vary a little each time, but it would read. I'm not sure if it would work but I think it would
333767
Yes Nicole it will work but you don't need to place it directly on the animal you are trying to take the temp on just go about an inch away. It also works for room temps too. I used it when I had a litter of pups worked great. Wish you the best
582722
I do not know about gerbils. I have used this with guinea pigs and rabbits and they do great with it.
1533842
Unfortunately, no. IR thermometers read surface temperature only, which is fairly useless for checking fevers. Even on the hottest night in the kitchen, I've only seen people read around 90f. Just use a medical thermometer, there's no better way to check a fever.
1931704
The temperature can be read from either side. It will be read normally from the inside but it will be backwards when read from the outside. no problem reading, either side.
278694
I would not personally trust this thermometer at those temperatures. My experience making meringues tells me that below 200 degrees it is not very accurate. I would think a better choice would be a standard wireless indoor-outdoor thermometer, which is designed to record temps in that range.
738292
I agree with Wowsie; it probably won't give an accurate reading just touching a surface. The probe is designed to be immersed. Why not use one of those IR thermometers? There are cheap ones that go to about 900°F. I see McMaster-Carr has them that go to 1800°F, but it's over $200. Or look at a color chart, if you're getting it hot enough. I Googled "metal temp color" and many charts popped up.
2094582
I never noticed. I simply put it in the cage (permanently) and checked it 15 min later. I assume 5 minutes should do it. Probably sooner. It's meant to sit in the terrarium indefinitely. Not really to be taken in and out. You would probably want an infrared temperature reader if you just want to check the temperature couple times a day.
1324529
I bought this as a gift and did plenty of research into the same question and the answer I found was yes, this prob should, according to the manufacturer, read two different temperatures at once.
860622
Also, my incubator holds the temp within 2-3 degrees either direction....so if you need REALLY ACCURATE temps, it may be a problem for you.
1855291
I use it as a rectal thermometer in veterinary school. It is also a brand used in 2 veterinary hospitals I worked at prior to veterinary school.
715792
It seems pretty accurate. However, the latch is not tight on ours..the metal hook seems to large, so if that is an issue with yours that might be the culprit for fluctuating temp.
222971
I believe this is a defective Thermometer. We could not get it to work properly and the instructions are inconsistent with their directions. Sorry you are having a problem. We ended up purchasing a clock that sets by satellite with a temperature gauge reading as well that we used for the room temperature and then we purchased a whelping heater that had a built in temperature setting.
1895268
I have tried it on myself, and it reads a few degrees low, even when aimed at the back of my throat. So the answer is no. Obviously the medical community uses something similar, but they must be calibrated for the small range in body temperatures.
1429681
I noticed that the temp display had very subtle shading to distinguish between the heat settings. We depend on wrist dipping and a toy ducky which has a temp readout that is easier to see.
301993
It can tell if someone is relatively warm compared to someone else (believe me I've experimented), however does not give an accurate temperature for medical purposes. Usually it reads skin temperatures to be around the mid 80s, which doesn't really help when you're trying to figure out if you're feverish. There are skin thermometers that can read forehead temps, but they are tactile. Also I wouldn't want to point the laser towards someone's eyes!
301994
Lol. I have used it but not sure how accurate it is. The person was running a little hot. I would have a regular thermometer just in case.
2194852
Yes on any surface, body, or thing. You'll surprise yourself with the number of uses for these. Maybe on body temp - the reading is "approximate" but you can get an idea by shooting a reading down your open mouth while breathing out. Accuracy is +- 2 centegrade, which is about 4 farenheit, no where near a medical degree of accuracy. But it's consistent, so what you get normally can be compared with what you get if you think you may have a fever. Hope this helps.