Best hydrometer?

I’m just curious what hydrometers people are using, and what they think are some of the better products out there. I recently got a blood python and want to be sure I’m accurately monitoring her humidity level.

I’m currently using a pretty basic thermometer/hydrometer combo by ZooMed (the little black one with the two probes). It’s mostly there for the hydrometer, as I monitor temps with a more accurate infrared temp gun. I’m honestly not convinced the humidity readings are all that accurate either and am interested in getting a higher-end product I can trust…but I’ve had some difficulties determining what that might be. I figured this would be a good place to ask!

I don’t need anything super fancy with a bunch of features, I just need something accurate and ideally simple to use.

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This is what I use and they work like a charm!

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I didn’t even know VE made something like that. How did I not know this?!?

Awesome, thank you, I just ordered one.

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I’ve never seen those. It doesn’t look super accurate but it’s still useful. I’ll likely end up buying a few of these. Thank you!

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Just curious, what do you use, and do you find it to be accurate?

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It is not pinpoint accurate by any means, but the little bit of variation it does have, allows me to keep it in check more because I like natural variation as I feel that mimics natural environment better. Additionally, since getting them, Kai, who is hypersensitive to humidity changes due to his deformation in his air way, has hasn’t got any RIs, so I guess that won me over.

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I’ve been using some cheap ones I’ve found on amazon. They work but they aren’t ideal. I think their temperature’s somewhat accurate but I haven’t been able to cross-check humidity except with each other.

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Yeah, I was looking on Amazon and getting frustrated by all the super mixed reviews on a lot of them. Some people would swear one model was accurate and easy to use, and seemingly a similar number of reviews would totally trash the product and claim it was useless. :roll_eyes: That’s often the case with products on Amazon, but when I really need something that works and am unwilling to mess around, it makes it hard to know what to buy and trust.

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I really like the govee ones they are a bit more expensive but so far very accurate, I trust them in my incubator.

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The ZooMed thermometer/hygrometer combos aren’t too bad, you just have to be careful not to let water get inside of the humidity probe, or they’re prone to failure. If they’re reading at 99% constantly regardless of the moisture level, or the temperature is reading considerably off, either the battery may need replaced or it indicates a failed probe. Lugarti also makes an excellent combo meter, with an alarm setting you can use to keep within target temp/humidity ranges as well, but they’re a bit more than the ZooMed or VE options are. Using an IR temperature gun is the most accurate way to monitor spot temperature in an enclosure or rack system, though, and you can verify the accuracy of your probe based thermometers with one, as well, eliminating any guesswork based on variations with the probe/thermometer and the possibility of failed equipment.

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The main thing that makes me doubt the accuracy of my ZooMed (I also heard they were decent, which is why I didn’t initially replace it when I was planning for my blood; I already had it still in the package) is because I’m seeing pretty significant swings in humidity readings, both up and down, when I’m not messing with the tub at all. I know there will be natural fluctuations up and down both as the enclosure dries out (humidity goes down), or as water evaporates from the water bowl and the snake respires (humidity goes up), but I’m seeing swings up and down by as much as 15-20% in a time period as short as an hour (again, when I haven’t so much as cracked open the tub). That … doesn’t seem right to me. I’m willing to admit that I’ve never managed humidity in a small baby tub before (only larger glass enclosures), but those readings still make me suspicious that something is faulty. The temp readings are also about 10-15 degrees colder than my temp gun readings, no matter where I put the probe or point the gun. Even when I point the gun AT the probe, the readings are significantly different.

It could be the battery. I didn’t consider that, because the unit was still in the package until a week or so before my snake arrived, when I set up her tub. The readings seemed steady and more or less accurate for a little while, but have been wonky like this for a few days now. I just don’t trust it.

I’ve already ordered the VE unit, but I’ll check out the Lugarti and the Govee that another user recommended. Can’t hurt to have more than one to check accuracy! I’m already so in love with this little baby python, I want to be sure I’m managing her habitat to the best of my ability.

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Let me know how the VE one works out in comparison, they’re about the same price as the ZooMed ones from what I’ve seen, and don’t seem like a bad alternative at all. That’s awesome, though, I’m looking forward to seeing it grow! Blood pythons are beautiful snakes, congratulations on the new addition.

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I’ll definitely let you all know how I like the VE. It’s shipped, so it should arrive in a couple days.

I’ve always thought that blood pythons are some of the most gorgeous snakes in existence. I’ve wanted one for years, it’s still a little unreal to me to finally have her. She’s gorgeous, and so far seems to have quite a nice temperament, especially for a baby. She really is a dream come true. :heart:

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Sensorpush.

Expensive but worth it to me.

I have the router as well so I can get off site notifications if humidity or temperature fall out of range which could be crucial in the event of a malfunction. Too often I hear of entire collections lost that wouldn’t have happened with a device like sensorpush.

SensorPush HT.w Wireless Thermometer/Hygrometer Water-Resistant for iPhone/Android. USA Made Indoor/Outdoor Humidity/Temperature/Dewpoint/VPD Monitor/Logger. Smart Sensor with Alerts https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PKWPKM2/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_SQ7SARE6H1HHFQZA7R84

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Here’s a couple interesting screenshots of my sensorpush data. Notice I’ve had a few big drops in temperature. In December I was out of town but i knew right away that the heater stopped working in there because i got a notification on my phone. I was able to watch temps closely until i got home and correct the issue.

I keep one inside a tub in my incubator and if it fails, I’ll know right away. If the seal is bad on the tub and humidity drops, I’ll know. I really like having all this data.

They’re also very accurate.


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I am a huge advocate for these! I love them!

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I saw that! I think they would work well in a few things I do also, and I’m hoping they’re similar in performance to the ZooMed ones because I’ve used those and like them a lot, for what they are. I think it’s great that @jawramik can do a side by side comparison of the two for us, though!

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The VE unit arrived either late last night or early this morning (found it on my porch this morning). I’ll get it set up in a bit and let everyone know how the readings look, and how they compare to the ZooMed. I may also try to put a new battery in the ZooMed, just to see if that makes a difference. I guess it’s possible it came with a bad battery.

I also ordered a new temp gun that should be arriving today. I’m reasonably confident in the accuracy of the one I have, but I did get it second-hand, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to get a new one. Plus it’ll be nice to have one for upstairs and one for downstairs while the new baby is in quarantine, assuming the readings from both are more or less the same.

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That’s really cool, thanks for sharing those screenshots. I’m not sure I need something quite that fancy, mainly because I don’t travel much and don’t currently have any species that wouldn’t survive a few hours without optimal temps and humidity if something failed while I was at work or something (my thermostats have automatic shut-offs if something malfunctions or gets too hot, so the worst that could happen is they’d be a little cold until I got home and dealt with it). But I can definitely see how it would be worth the money if/when I ever travel more, keep more delicate species, or ever take the plunge into breeding.

I do have a Bluetooth-capable timer for the light on my sand boa enclosure, which is pretty awesome.

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So, I got the VE unit all set up last night, and so far I really like it! It only has a single probe that measures both temp and humidity, whereas the ZooMed has a probe for each. Less wires is a good thing in my book! Makes it super easy to set up.

So far the readings seem MUCH more accurate than the ZooMed. The temp readings are within about a degree of my temp gun, and at least so far, I’m not seeing the same sort of weird fluctuations in humidity.

The display on the VE is a good deal larger than the ZooMed display, which is nice, as it makes it easier to check at a glance. It also has a feature that allows you to check the lowest and highest readings it’s taken, which the ZooMed can’t do (as far as I can tell).

There are really only two things that might be a little better about the ZooMed, and they’re pretty superficial. The first is that the battery cover on the ZooMed is easier to open. It just has a little cover that you can pop open and closed with a finger. I had to use a tool to open the battery case on the VE. (If you have long fingernails, you might not need a tool…but I hate having long fingernails, so I couldn’t get enough purchase with my stubby thumbnail.) The second minor thing is that the probe on the VE doesn’t come with a suction cup to secure it to the side or top of the enclosure, whereas the ZooMed probes did come with suction cups attached. However, on my ZooMed, the suction cups got all crunched up and bent out of shape in the package, so they were totally useless, and I had to cut them off and replace them anyway. I just popped one of the extra suction cups I already had onto the VE probe wire.

Oh, one other thing. The VE seems to take a little longer for the readings to stabilise. It took about 10-15 minutes on the VE, vs. only 5 minutes or so for the ZooMed. But I’d rather wait a little longer for readings that are accurate than get wonky readings more quickly, so I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

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