Need lighting/heating help with a new set up

[Biglurr54]

I am setting up a Bearded Dragon terrarium for my son’s bearded dragon. I am looking for some advice on maintaining the heat. The terrarium is made of wood with glass doors. IT is a repurposed entertainment stand. It is 36in (W) x 24in (D) x 30in (H). I have a 24in t5 uvb bulb and the basking light is a 100w halogen flood light on a dimmer.



I am looking for ideas on how to light the rest of the tank but not produce heat so the lighting is balanced. Would a couple of 60w equivalent led bulbs work?



My other question is regarding heat at night. The temp in the house drops to 60 at night. I was thinking of doing either a 100w CHE on a thermostat or could I use a 250w personal space heater on a thermostat? My worry about the CHE is that it will heat up high in the terrarium and not down low. It will also create thermoclines in the cage as the higher up and close to the CHE the warmer it will be. The personal space heater has a fan that circulates the air and keeps the terrarium at a steady even temp for overnight. I would cover the space heater so the BD can not touch it.




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[PatsyB]

LED lights would work fine to add extra light. On my tanks I just got the 36" UVB light and it brightens the whole tank.

As far as the night heat. If the tank drops to 60 at night then maybe a 60watt CHE would work just fine. You want the temps at night to be between 65-70 degrees, it doesn't need to be real warm. My tanks get to 62 at the lowest, I don't use any nighttime heat and my dragons have always been fine. I would worry about putting a personal space heater inside the tank especially if the tank is made of wood.