Best temp guns?

[WyrmSwarm]

Im planning on getting my first reptile, a leopard gecko or crested gecko. I’m doing research and gathering everything I need, but I’m not sure what temp gun to get. I’ve heard the little zoo med infrared one you can get is not very accurate, so I would appreciate some suggestions! Preferably I would want something that’s affordable, but if that’s not an option I can always break the bank for something that’s better in the long run.

 

[The Snark]

What exactly are you measuring the temperature of? Temp guns detect heat of objects, which isn't going to help monitor the ambient temperature of an enclosure.
At the hospital I used a Fluke NIST certified temp gun. About $200. I also used a Fluke temperature sensor wand connected to a DMM. It was about $75 and measured ambients. Both were accurate to +/- .1 C.
If you have a reasonably accurate digital multimeter, which are quite cheap now days - starting around $20, there are many quite good ambient temp sensor attachments available starting as low as $15 or so. and IR object sensor attachments starting around $20-$25. Avoid the LASER ones as they are very iffy until you get up around $75. And beware of fake copies which are more common that dirt in the electronics department.

It seems to be the old 'you get what you pay for'. Ordering on line does not give you the option of comparing several sensors side by side which is the best way to get an accurate one without a temp standard to compare them to.

 

[MetalMan2004]

If you want something cheap Winco has one for under $30. Besides that Fluke is basically runs that whole industry.

 

[WyrmSwarm]

What exactly are you measuring the temperature of? Temp guns detect heat of objects, which isn't going to help monitor the ambient temperature of an enclosure.
At the hospital I used a Fluke NIST certified temp gun. About $200. I also used a Fluke temperature sensor wand connected to a DMM. It was about $75 and measured ambients. Both were accurate to +/- .1 C.
If you have a reasonably accurate digital multimeter, which are quite cheap now days - starting around $20, there are many quite good ambient temp sensor attachments available starting as low as $15 or so. and IR object sensor attachments starting around $20-$25. Avoid the LASER ones as they are very iffy until you get up around $75. And beware of fake copies which are more common that dirt in the electronics department.

It seems to be the old 'you get what you pay for'. Ordering on line does not give you the option of comparing several sensors side by side which is the best way to get an accurate one without a temp standard to compare them to.

I should’ve specified that I need it for measuring the basking spot temps. I’ll take a look at some of those options and look around some more. Thanks