Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What does everyone use for scales to weight their herps and where are you getting them from???

Thanks,
Bruce

Hi Bruce –

The scales I use are:

--Ohaus 700 series triple beam balance, capacity 2610 g (x 0.1 g) - This scale is good for animals under 5 pounds, and most useful for very small creatures which really cheap scales aren’t accurate enough to weigh. It’s nice to get the purpose-made aluminum animal basket with this, but it is priced ridiculously high and you can always improvise a container. My Weigh makes a cheaper knock-off of this scale model which I would consider if I were buying now.

--My Weigh MBS2010, capacity 20 kg (x 10 g) - a good digital for animals too big to fit on the Ohaus. Although it goes up to 44 pounds, in actual usage it is difficult to get a snake much over 30 pounds stuffed into a container that will balance on the platform.

--An accurate bathroom platform scale – for those animals that are just too big, difficult or squirmy to weigh on the MBS2010. Pick ‘em up and step on the scale. It’s better than nothing.

When I used to have animals in the 100 to 200 pound range, I only weighed them at a vet’s office.

It’s easy to compare prices of scales online. Of course it all depends on what you want to weigh most often and your budget. The Ohaus and My Weigh are a couple of tools on which I’ve never regretted spending the money.

-Joan