Can you trim a fermometer without ruining it?

My glass carboy has ridges on the outside and Im thinking that my fermometer wont sick too well because of them. There is one flat area on the side of the carboy without the ridges but it is not wide enough for the whole fermometer. Since I dont plan on making and low temperature lagers (at least not in the near future) I was thinking that I might just chop off the part from 44˚F down. Do you think this will this ruin the fermometer?

no this will not ruin your fermometer. I've trimmed a bunch and they all work fine.

Or, have the fermometer run up and down instead of sideways.

looks like im going to have to trim it. It doesn't fit sideways or longways.