A question about heat

[cbgarner2002]

Hello all! My recently developed bearded dragon habitat is a 55 gallon fish tank with a screen lid, Reptisun T5 36" hood/light, a Zoo Med mini combo dome with two 75 watt clear lightbulbs, and initially a deep dome with a 150 watt basking bulb which is where my question begins. Number one, it has proved to be a royal pain in the neck to move the screen lid as the lights go everywhere. Number two the deep dome was so wide that it made placement of the T5 where the heat and UVB would overlap one another more difficult. I decided to try a mini halogen dome and thus far I am astounded by how much heat this little fixture puts out! I'm almost afraid its too hot and that is why I'm asking for advice.

Here is the set up:

Under the halogen light just below the reptihammock the hottest temp reading im getting is 134 F:

Is this too hot? The coolest point of the cage is 78 F so I feel like she can always migrate to cool down if need be but I don't want her basking temp to be overloaded. Plus, couldn't the wood itself be holding in heat from the light and that is the temp being picked up rather than the light itself? In which case would that kind of heat burn her belly? I am probably over-thinking all of this I just don't want to hurt my new little girl as she is my first reptile.

 

[PatsyB]

134 is way too hot and if that's the temp just under the hammock, if he is sitting on the hammock it's probably 140! I would have just stayed with the deep dome fixture and a 75-100 watt basking bulb, either a reptile basking bulb or an indoor/outdoor flood light. They make a mini dome fixture that would probably fit the space better or you can take the larger dome and bend it just slightly to fit your spot. You want the temp for a baby to be 110 in the basking area. One thing about setting up a tank for the first time is you will buy a LOT of light bulbs until you find the one you like. You may need to get a light stand for the basking bulbs to make it easier to get the screen on and off.

 

[cbgarner2002]

I think I'm going to try out a 25W halogen bulb instead of a 50W and see if that helps. I just never expected it to get that hot! I was honestly worried it would be too cool given its size because the ambient temperature in the tank has proven to be slightly cooler than what I've read is ideal. The coolest part averages 78 degrees and ranges up into the 90's around the basking spot which, as you saw, is way too hot with that bulb.

I'll just have to play around with the bulbs until I get the right mix.

 

[PatsyB]

Lights give me a headache! I think it has to do with where the tank is placed too. At one time my tanks were identical and I could use the same watt bulb in both tanks and get different temps in each one.

 

[cbgarner2002]

A little update! After some deliberation I decided to remove the hammock and see how the temp played out. This turned out to be a good solution! Now the hottest point of the habitat is sitting around 116 F (which I know is slightly hotter than ideal) but its certainly better than <130 F! I wish I could figure out a way to make the gradient a bit less dramatic, still. The coolest point averages 76 F and I just feel 76 F to 116 F is such a huge range! She seems to be enjoying herself, though. She stays on the warm side about 90% of the time but she is active, eating and alert.