Enclosure temp

[Annhenry9]

Hi all.
I am in urgent need to fix a problem with my dragons enclosure. Me and my son built a 24in by 48in enclosure from a diagram we saw online. We have sanded plywood sides, plexy doors on the front and two mesh vents on the top. I have a uvb light mounted inside the cage and a 100 watt dome light for basking that sits on the metal mesh on top of the enclosure. We had it all set up but didn’t think to turn on the lamps before for a bit and check temps before putting our bearded dragon in. We had it in and the temps where climbing but I can’t get the hot side any hotter than 82 and the cool side stays about 76. I read somewhere some enclosures need reflectors. I would appreciate any ideas. Our dragon has eaten well but I don’t want problems with temps to cause him digestion problems. We are new to bearded dragons and although we

 

[Kylie C]

You definitely want to raise those temps!! What Is the wattage of your basking bulb? You could increase the wattage and experiment with that works with your set up. My tip is to not have the basking bulb sitting on top of the tank. (I think yours isn’t but I can’t really see so I wanted to put that out there anyways!!) my tank was a little bit too hot so I raised my light up a few inches and that did the trick! Also you should try to get your UVB on the inside of the tank. Mesh cuts uvb in half. I attached a tank heat guide for you!

 

[Annhenry9]

You definitely want to raise those temps!! What Is the wattage of your basking bulb? You could increase the wattage and experiment with that works with your set up. My tip is to not have the basking bulb sitting on top of the tank. (I think yours isn’t but I can’t really see so I wanted to put that out there anyways!!) my tank was a little bit too hot so I raised my light up a few inches and that did the trick! Also you should try to get your UVB on the inside of the tank. Mesh cuts uvb in half. I attached a tank heat guide for you!

Thanks so much. The bulb is 100 watts. It sits in wire mesh vent. So your thinking play with different bulbs and raise the light up a little off the enclosure? I will definitely try that. We do have the uvb light inside the enclosure but had trouble getting the bulbs for the light so they will be here tomorrow. So I just put a uvb light on top until we get the bulbs for the interior light in the morning.

 

[Kylie C]

Thanks so much. The bulb is 100 watts. It sits in wire mesh vent. So your thinking play with different bulbs and raise the light up a little off the enclosure? I will definitely try that. We do have the uvb light inside the enclosure but had trouble getting the bulbs for the light so they will be here tomorrow. So I just put a uvb light on top until we get the bulbs for the interior light in the morning.

I had to do some experimenting with my 40 gallon breeders. Right now I have a 150 Watt basking bulb which is what you may end up needing. And yes if you need to cool the tank down raising the bulb a bit higher should do the trick!