The Zoo Med Digital Terrarium Thermometer is a simple way to keep an eye on the temperature in your box turtle’s habitat. Just place the probe, turn on the display and you can see the temperature at a glance.

The display unit hangs conveniently outside the habitat, so it’s easy to see and read.

And the display is digital, so so you don’t have to stop and stare at little lines to figure out the right reading.

It’s not perfect (yellow? Really?), and you might have to get creative if you’re hanging it on a wood habitat (suction cups won’t stick!). But it gets the job done at a good price.

Keep reading for more about Zoo Med’s Digital Terrarium Thermometer:

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What You Get                Ease of Use                Life Expectancy
Pros & Cons                Compare Prices                Pros & Cons

What You Get

This is a yellow plastic unit with a digital display and remote sensor. You can set it to display temperatures in Fahrenheit or Celsius.

The remote sensor probe is what actually measures the temperature, and the cord on that is about 39 inches long. That’s more than 3 feet, so you should be able to find a convenient spot for the display and still be able to put the probe where you want it. But you probably can’t put the display on one end and the probe on the other.

It can sense temperatures from -10° to 140° F (-23° to 60° C).

It comes with suction cups for mounting the probe and display unit, but unless you have your turtles in an aquarium tank (not recommended), you’ll need to use something else. The display can be hung on a hook or nail (one reviewer mentioned using small Command hooks).

It’s battery operated, and comes with the LR44, 1.5 volt battery you’ll need.

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How Easy is This Digital Terrarium Thermometer to Use?

The thermometer is very simple to use. The display unit mounts on the outside of the habitat. Although it has a suction cup, if you have a wooden habitat you’ll want to hang it on a screw instead.

Then simply place the probe inside the habitat where you want to measure the temperature. According to Zoo Med, it can be placed in water, buried in substrate or wrapped around items in the habitat. But it is important to make sure your boxie or other pet can’t chew on the cord.

Pressing the power button (pwr) firmly turns it on.

To turn it off, you’ll need to hold the power button for about 5 seconds (or until it turns off!). Don’t get impatient if it doesn’t turn off right at what you believe is five seconds. We’ve had all sorts of products where we’ve had to hold down a button longer than the manufacturer claimed. We saw at least one review claiming that the unit wouldn’t turn off, so we thought this was important to point out.

There’s a simple slide switch to change the temperature reading between Fahrenheit and Celsius

It is a good idea to check the accuracy. One reviewer mentioned owning several, and the accuracy was variable. Some were very accurate, but at least one was as much as 10 degrees off.

You may also find it takes a little while to get an accurate reading right after turning it on.

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Life Expectancy of This Digital Thermometer

This digital terrarium thermometer comes with a 1-year warranty from Zoo Med. So it should last at least that long.

But many reviewers mentioned having had theirs for 2 years or more. For an item that generally costs under $10, it seems pretty durable.

Battery life also seems good. Of course, it will depend on whether you have it on all the time. We saw several reviews where the battery lasted more than a year and even two years.

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Pros and Cons Summary

 
For the most part, the pros seem to outweigh any cons. Most people seem to like the thermometer, with several reviewers mentioning that they’d recommend it.

Pros:

• Display is easy to read
• Easy to switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius
• Long battery life (and first battery included!)
• 39 inch cord on sensor

Cons:

• Yellow color is rather bright
• Some units may not be very accurate
• May be slow to get an initial reading after turning on

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Compare Prices and Availability of This Digital Thermometer

If the Zoo Med Digital Terrarium Thermometer sounds like something you’d like to use for your pet’s habitat, here are a few places that sell it (we link directly to the thermometer page).

Choose your favorite retailer, or compare prices to get the best deal:

• PetCo, which had the thermometer on sale when we visited
• PetSmart
• Amazon

 

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