Enclosure set up and I need help with heat

[Kathy_D]

So we got everything we need for our new dragon (we don't have it yet, we wanted to get everything set up first). I have set up the enclosure, but I am having issues with getting the tank warm enough. We have a 40 gallon breeder (36" long, 18" wide). I have a Repti-Sun T5 10.0 UVB tube light, a 100 watt basking light and a 75 watt CHE for night. I set up the tank today and I have not been able to get my basking area temp above 88 degrees. I cannot bring home a new baby until I have this fixed and I know a few things to do, but I am hoping that someone with more experience might be able to help me in case I'm missing something. I plan to get a 150 watt basking bulb. Here are pics of my set up and some questions:
1) should I raise the basking areas? I was afraid to raise it too high because I don't want my baby to fall and get hurt.
2) should I attach the UVB, basking light and/or CHE to the inside of the screen top? If so, any pointers?
3) if I should keep everything on top of the screen, how should I arrange the lights?
4) I do have a probe thermometer, should I use that as well? I have been using an IR temp gun to assess temps.

Please note the hygrometer/thermometer did not have batteries in yet when I took the picture. I am using it primarily for the hygrometer.

I need to find someone to cut the remaining tiles to fill in where I currently have paper towel.

 

[Kathy_D]

When I woke up this morning I realized that I had not switched out the bulb in the UVB fixture, I had left the bulb that. And with it in. So I switched the bulb and put it back. My daughter just checked the basking spot and it was 108.6 degrees! I feel so much better! We are still going to get a 150 watt basking bulb to help heat the rest of the warm side, but the temps are much closer to the necessary temps than they were before.

Any other helpful hints or critiques about my set up (particularly the light arrangement on top of the screen top) are welcome. We are hoping to get our new baby today now that the heat is all sorted.

 

[Chad and Grayson]

I built a wire holder for my lights so that I can open the lid without removing all the lights. It's made out of 1/4" steel rods from Lowe's and I used I small pipe bender from Harbor Freight.

I can't tell from your pics but it looks like you can open half your lid at a time? If so, then you wouldn't need a light stand. Just a thought.


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[Kathy_D]

Yes, the screen lid is hinged in the middle. I am going to see if I can rig a holder for the UVB using wire and attach it to the stationary half of the screen. I just need to figure out how to get the cord out without jeopardizing the integrity of the screen.

 

[Hdrydr31]

If your UVB is a T8 just know that those have problems going thru screening.. If you get the T5 those bulbs are strong enough to penetrate mesh.

 

[Kathy_D]

If your UVB is a T8 just know that those have problems going thru screening.. If you get the T5 those bulbs are strong enough to penetrate mesh.

I have a T5. Once I put the new bulb in the fixture and upgraded the basking light to 150 watts, the temps worked out. We got our new little "girl", Heihei, this afternoon and she is dong great!

 

[PatsyB]

Glad that you got the temps worked out. However, the UVB bulb doesn't put out heat so I'm not sure how putting the right bulb in changed the temp that drastically.

 

[Kathy_D]

I moved the lights a bit and raised the temp in the room but it seemed that changing the bulb made a difference. Maybe it was the other things I did but I thought it was changing the UVB bulb. I got the basking area to the right temps but the rest of the tank was on the low end of the correct temps. A couple days ago I moved the CHE to be on constantly. I finally got the temps in the whole enclosure on track and I can see that Heihei is finally settling in. She is eating 10-15 roaches a day, eats a few bites of her greens (mustard greens right now), has pooped every other day.