Pet-Temp

Instant Ear Thermometer for Pets Home Use Model PT-250

Quick Start Instruction Manual

6215 Ferris Square, San Diego, CA 92121, U.S.A. Toll-free Customer Service: 1-877-PET-TEMP (738-8367) Telephone: 858-677-3880 www.pet-temp.com

Pet-Temp

Quick Start

Step 1 Locating the Ear Canal

A. The ear canal begins directly behind the tragus. As a point of reference, identify the tragus and the ear canal of a human. Fig. 1 shows the tragus on a human. Just like you, your pet has a tragus. However, it may be a little more difficult to locate. Figures 2 and 3 show you the location of the tragus on a cat and a dog.

If the ear canal has a lot of hair, first trim or pluck the hair to find the tragus and the canal. If the ear is very dirty or full of wax, contact your veterinarian or local pet product retailer to identify the best method of cleaning.
B. To visually locate the ear canal of your pet, pull the outside of the ear towards the tail as shown in Fig. 2.

It helps to have another person hold your pets head to help stabilize it from moving. You can feel the canal with your finger to be sure you have its correct location.

Step 2 Understanding your Pet-Temp

The Pet-Temp Instant Ear Thermometer (Fig. 4) has a sensor arm that can be folded for storage and opened when the probe is to be inserted into your pets ear canal for temperature measurement. The tip of the probe contains an infrared lens made of a hard black crystal. The lens must be kept clean to assure accurate temperature measurement. Before the probe is inserted into an ear canal, it must be enveloped by a protective lens cover which is fabricated of a special plastic that is transparent for infrared waves. Failure to use a Lens Cover will result in inaccurate temperature measurement. The activation button is located on the spine of the thermometer. It is used to start the thermometer and to measure temperature when the probe is inserted into an ear canal. The display will guide you through the process and show the result of temperature measurement. To change scale from Fahrenheit to Celsius or back, insert a paper clip tip into the C/F switch hole and push.

Step 3 Installing the Lens Cover

A. The Disposable Lens Covers are packaged in a box of 20 and are stored in the carrying case. Position the carrying case on a firm surface such as a table top. Grab the first cover in the box, being careful not to touch the plastic film and place it into the circular cavity in the carrying case as shown in Fig. 5. B. Open the sensor arm of the Pet-Temp. Position the tip of the probe at the center of the lens cover and slowly but firmly push the Pet-Temp thermometer down so the cover envelopes the probe tip. You should feel a snap when the lens cover engages the probe retention ring. The lens cover membrane must smoothly and uniformly envelope the probe. Do not touch the membrane area near the infrared lens.

Step 4 Starting the Pet-Temp

Now is the time to put the wrist strap around your wrist to prevent accidentally dropping the Pet-Temp.
A. Press and release the Activation Button. The Display screen will briefly show the Test Image (Fig. 6). You will also see the Lens Cover symbol to remind you that a new Lens Cover must be installed. B. The last temperature measured and the letter M (memory) will be displayed for two seconds (Fig. 7). When the Pet-Temp is ready to measure temperature, the READY symbol and a C or F will be displayed (Fig. 8).

Now, you are ready to measure temperature

Step 5 Measuring Temperature

It is best to have another person stabilize the animals head while measuring a temperature.
As we did in Step 1, find your pets ear canal. Remember, it is located directly behind the tragus. While pulling the ear towards the tail, insert the probe into the ear canal as deep as possible as seen in Figures 9 and 10. Point the probe tip in the direction of the animals opposite jaw (toward the ear drum). Continue to pull the outside of the animals ear towards the tail as you insert the probe as shown in Fig. 11.

When the probe is as deep as possible (fitting tightly), push the Activation Button (Fig. 12). Within one second, the Pet-Temp will beep signaling it has finished measuring the temperature.

Do not leave the probe in the ear for longer than 3 seconds as this may result in reduced accuracy.
Remove the probe from the ear and read the temperature as shown in Fig. 13. Remove and discard the Lens Cover. To measure another temperature, push the activation button and wait for the READY symbol. Install a new clean Lens Cover before measuring the next temperature. When finished, close the Sensor Arm for storage.

The Pet-Temp probe will not injure or harm your pets ear drum or ear canal. The Pet-Temp measures the temperature of what it is pointed towards. Variance in temperature readings will occur if the probe tip is pointed in different directions. It is important to aim the probe tip towards the ear drum for maximum accuracy. It will take practice to become comfortable with the correct technique.

Step 6 Determine a Normal Baseline Temperature

As a point of reference for future temperature measurement, you should establish a baseline temperature for your pet. This should be done over several days at the same time everyday (6:00 to 9:00 a.m. is optimal) and should be done when your pet is healthy and at rest. This will give you the ability to monitor abnormal temperature readings on your pet in the future. Use the box to the right (Fig. 14) to record the baseline temperature for three days and then calculate and record the average baseline temperature.

Step 7 Interpreting Results

Normal ear temperature on dogs and cats (and most companion animals) is between 100.0 and 103.0 Fahrenheit (37.7 and 39.4 Celsius). As in humans, animals will experience fluctuations in body temperature depending on the time of day and their activity level. During a resting state, the ear temperature of most animals will be closer to 100.0F (37.7C). After exercise or on a hot day, the ear temperature may rise to 103.0F (39.4C) or higher.

To distinguish between a sickness and an exercise or heat induced temperature increase, let your animal rest for 30-60 minutes and then measure its temperature. Compare this reading to the average resting baseline temperature that you have recorded above. If the animals temperature is higher than 103.0F (39.4C), contact your veterinary professional for further instructions on treatment and care. Temperatures below 98.0F (36.7C) or exceeding 104.5F (40.3C) are potentially life threatening and may be harmful to the animal if untreated. Contact your veterinary professional immediately for further instructions on treatment and care.

Battery
A. For a maximum convenience, the Pet-Temp Instant Ear Thermometer has a permanently built-in battery. The battery has a long life and sufficient energy capacity for over 5 years of operation in a home environment. Once the battery reaches its limit, the user should return the Pet-Temp to the factory for service. For a nominal charge and at the Companys discretion, AMC will either replace the battery or exchange the thermometer. The battery symbol (Fig. 16) will be flashing when the battery capacity is depleted. At this time, the thermometer should be sent to Advanced Monitors Corporation for service.

Error Messages
Er1 Lo Hi Er3 Er4 Er0 Ambient air temperature is either too hot or too cold. Operating ambient air temperature range is 50F 104F (10.0C 40C) Measured temperature is lower than 93.2F (34C) Measured temperature is higher than 109.4F (43C) Temperature of the probe is not stable. Wait a couple of minutes and retake temperature. Pet-Temp could not compute an accurate temperature (possibly from animal movement). Try again! Hardware malfunction. Contact Customer Service if Er0 continues.

Pet-Temp Tips
The infrared lens must be kept clean at all times. This is accomplished by cleaning with a cotton swab and alcohol. Wait 10 minutes before measuring temperature after cleaning for the lens to completely dry. The most common cause of low readings is a dirty lens. Please be sure it is always kept clean. For accurate temperature measurement, the ear should be clear of hair, wax or debris. Commercial ear cleaning products are available through your veterinarian or your local pet product retailer. The Pet-Temp has been designed to quickly and easily measure animal ear temperature. Leaving the probe in the ear for longer than 3 seconds can result in reduced accuracy of the thermometer. It is best to get in and out within 1 or 2 seconds. Do not use the Pet-Temp if the ear is sensitive to touch due to an ear infection or injury.

Pet-Temp Facts
The Pet-Temp thermometer does not emit any signal or radiation. It is a passive detector of infrared (heat) waves that are naturally emanated by the surface of an ear canal. The Pet-Temp is totally safe and will not injure or harm your pet.

As opposed to ear thermometers intended for human subjects, the Pet-Temp infrared probe is specifically designed to fit into ear canals of dogs, cats and most companion animals including rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs and chinchillas. Research has shown that the ear drum region in humans and animals is an excellent location to monitor body temperature. The ear canal is located near the brain and essentially is at brain blood temperature and is called core temperature. Rapid changes in core temperature reflect much faster at the ear drum region than at the rectum. Unlike rectal temperatures, the accuracy of your ear thermometer is not influenced by food, digestion or intestinal gases. Depending on the core body temperature of the animal, ear and rectal temperatures may not match perfectly. This is due to the fact that rectal measurements are not good indicators of core body temperature. Accurate rectal temperatures are also dependent on: 1) the calibration of the rectal thermometer 2) the time the thermometer is kept in the rectum and 3) the presence of intestinal gas and feces. Even if the temperature of the ear and the rectum are different, they are typically in the same diagnostic range. Although the Pet-Temp can take accurate temperatures from most animals including humans, it is not approved for the diagnostic purposes of people.

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How Does the Instant Ear Thermometer Work?

In any object, atoms naturally emanate electromagnetic waves in the mid and far infrared spectral ranges (invisible light) in relation to the objects temperature. The Pet-Temp contains a special infrared sensor which detects the strength of the infrared light. From that, the built-in microcomputer computes temperature. Since the measurement is performed by detecting light, the instrument works almost instantaneously and does not need to come into contact with the ear drum. The Pet-Temp operation resembles a digital camera in that it incorporates a lens, a light sensing device and a microcomputer. Contrary to the ear thermometers intended for human applications, the Pet-Temp infrared probe is specially designed to fit into ear canals of most animals and will not injure the ear canal or ear drum.

Why measure your pets temperature?

Animals are just like small children, they cant tell us when theyre sick. Traditional methods of identifying illnesses (touching their nose or observing behavior) are not good indicators of internal (core) body temperature. The Pet-Temp is an extremely accurate temperature measuring device that allows the user to identify fluctuations in their pets temperature that may be an indication of an illness. Also, the risk of infection and illness is increased after surgery (including spaying and neutering) or from vaccinations, trauma, injury, insect bites and poisoning. As in humans, when a change in temperature is identified, quicker medical attention will lead to improved treatment and care for your pet.

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How Pet-Temp is different from Human Ear Thermometers

Unlike humans, animal ear shapes and sizes can vary dramatically. Cats have short and narrow ear canals while large dogs have deep and curved canals. To accurately measure temperature on all different size ear canals, an ear thermometer must be specifically designed to accommodate all ear sizes. As compared to human ear thermometers, the Pet-Temp accomplishes this by utilizing a smaller probe tip and an extended sensor arm. These two features allow the user to position the probe in the correct position of most companion animals: from kittens to large dogs.

Maintenance and Care

The Pet-Temp Instant Ear Thermometer is a precision instrument that requires very little care to assure years of reliable operation. The following is the recommended maintenance: The probe lens should be kept clean. This should be completed on a regular basis. Clean the lens bya cotton swab dipped in alcohol. After rubbing the lens with the cotton swab, use a dry cotton swab to remove excess alcohol. Then wait at least five minutes before using the Pet-Temp to assure the window is completely dry. A clean window will appear uniformly shiny. If the instrument housing becomes soiled or dirty, gently wipe it with a paper towel or a soft piece of cloth dampen with rubbing alcohol. Never use any cleaning solutions or solvents. To clean grooves in the instrument use a soft tool such as a toothpick. Never submerge the instrument in any liquid, elevate its temperature above 120F (48.9C) or subject it to strong electromagnetic fields (a microwave ovens, e.g.). Do not expose the instrument to direct sun light for a prolonged period of time.

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Trouble Shooting

Problem
Temperature reading appears too low

Possible Cause
Dirty probe lens or lens cover Incorrect insertion of probe into an ear canal. Obstructed ear canal or large ear wax deposits Lens Cover is broken or not installed Damaged lens or probe tip

Corrective Measure
Clean lens with alcohol and cotton swab. Use new, clean Lens Cover Retake temperature with the correct technique Clean ear and retake temperature Install a new Lens Cover and retake temperature Return for factory service Seek medical care immediately Retake temperature keeping probe in ear for at least 1 second Repeat temperature. Push Activation Button after probe is seated in ear. Retake temp. with correct technique Retake temp. with pets head stable Retake temp., wait for beep Contact Customer Service

Temperature reading appears too high

Display shows LO or HI

Patient temp. out of range Probe was not kept in ear for 1 second Activation Button was accidentally pressed too soon. Probe was incorrectly inserted into ear Pet moved its head Probe was removed from ear before beep Dead battery or hardware malfunction

Display shows Er4

Instrument does not respond

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Limited Warranty
The Pet-Temp (Model PT-250) Instant Ear Thermometer is warranted by Advanced Monitors Corporation to be free from manufacturing defects for one (1) year from the date of purchase by the original purchaser when used at home. This warranty does not cover malfunction or damage that is the result of misuse, abuse or intentional damage to the product. Opening or disassembly of the product housing or the portion thereof or use for professional purposes voids this warranty. Except for the expressed limited warranty set forth above, Advanced Monitors Corporation grants no other warranties, expressed or implied, regarding the PT-250 Pet-Temp Instant Thermometer, the Lens Covers, accessories, and related materials, their fitness for a particular purpose, their quality or their merchantability. No oral or written information or advice given by Advanced Monitors Corporation, its reseller, agents, or employers shall create a warranty. In no event shall Advanced Monitors Corporation be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages that result from the purchase or use of the Pet-Temp Instant Ear Thermometer. The maximum liability shall not exceed the price paid for the instrument.

Service
Pet-Temp (Model PT-250) Instant Ear Thermometer contains no user serviceable components. If you encounter problems while using the instrument, follow these steps: 1. Read the Trouble Shooting section. It may contain the solution to your problem. 2. Access our web page: www.pet-temp.com. It may contain a solution to your problem and will allow you to communicate with Customer Service through e-mail. 3. Call our Customer Service Department. The toll-free number is the U.S. and Canada is 1-877-PET-TEMP (877-738-8367). From other countries call 1-858-677-3880.