Tank Set Up

Hi All
We are new to this from Australia and are currently setting up our tank but not achieving high enough heat levels.

We have a 150watt heat lamp at the basking end and a standard UVB tube at the other but only achieving 30 degrees cels (85F)at the basking end. I think we need to be at 100f am I correct?
So to fix this should I put another light at the other end ?
Tank is 3ft long x 1.5ft high and wide. We are getting 2 lawsons dragons Juveniles hopefully today if I can sort this out.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Pet shop proving to have no one there who really knows how to care for dragons properly, I get told different things by different people each time I go in ???? Scary.
Thanks in Advance.
Brad.

Hi All we have bought our 2 Lawsons Dragons and would only be 2" long and we pretty much have to force feed them very small crickets.... Not sure how old they are ? I have put them on a branch I have leaning up to the top corner so they can be near the Heat Lamp, not sure if I should leave them there overnight ???? If I put them on the ground will they be too cold ???? Help would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks.
Brad.

That sounds small even for a Rankins dragon. Are they at least eating if you hand feed the small crickets? I would double check your temperatures across the enclosure and make sure everything is OK on that front first. You can leave them on a basking branch if you'd like. They should move on their own if they want something different provided they are able to move around the tank easily. The heat lamp and UVB should be off at night so it shouldn't be an issue for them sleep wise. As long as your house and the inside of the tank stay above about 18 or so overnight, they will be fine on the floor of the tank and don't require additional heating.

Thanks for your reply.
Yes they are eating 5 or so very small crickets in a sitting 3 times a day and have also eaten some of the veges in the food bowl. One was very lathagic but seems good and active this morning. Its time consuming to feed them and dont want to stress them out to much. We are handling only at feed time to limit handling.
Heat- The 150w lamp sits on the top mesh of the tank and it is 450mm high off the floor of the tank. I have a thermometer with 2 probes but the temp can vary greatly by moving it not far. Is it the surface temp we are after where they actually sit ? Only getting about 27 on the bottom of tank. Should I cut a hole in the mesh ? Should I remove mesh lid but worried about them getting out as we have a insulated background they have proven they can climb ?? Need to get more heat to the bottom I think. I turn the UVB light off at night but leave heat lamp on.
Thanks CooperDragon.

OK It's a good sign that they are eating. 5 crickets 3x per day isn't bad. Their appetites will fluctuate over time though. 450mm is about right for a 150w bulb. I suspect something may be up with the bulb or fixture. I'd try a different bulb and see if you get different readings. If you have two probes, I'd put one on the cool side floor of the tank and the other on a basking site (that may be a log or rock depending on your setup) on the hot side and get the surface temps where they sit to bask. I would turn the heat lamp off at night as well so it's nice and dark for them. If the temps go below 18 at night then you may want to add a low wattage ceramic heat emitter to bump the temps up a little bit. Otherwise no extra heat should be necessary.

Thanks CooperDragon.
I forgot to mention the crickets are just pin head crickets , we try and get as many into them as possible , my wife has to use her fingernail to open their mouths then i put the pin heads in the mouth and then they respond by chewing and swollowing which is good. Being pin heads , is this enough food ? Have been putting them in a container with crickets as well to see if they will eat on their own but only the stronger one does this.
Temps at night here get down to 10 cels so it is cold at the moment, have been leaving infrared heat lamp on at night for warmth but it has that bright red light , does this upset them,? They do seem to want to get in a shady spot to sleep which they have access to many of those spots.
Thanks again CooperDragon.
Brad.

The pinheads are appropriate for small dragons. You want to feed them bugs no bigger than the space between their eyes. Having to force feed them a bit isn't ideal, but at least they're getting *something*. Hopefully they will come around soon and start eating on their own with much larger appetites. As far as the bulb goes, I'd avoid using a red light as that may disturb sleep just like it would for us. I'd go with a ceramic heat emitter if you can which produces heat but no visible light. You'll want the nighttime temps in the enclosure to be around the 21-24 degree range if you can.

Yes they definately like to hide from the light so will get the ceramic heat emmiter as you sugested.
The feeding is going ok but yes it is stressful for them and hopefully they will do it on their own soon. They just don't react when you hold it in front of them.
Thanks for all your help, getting more confident everyday and hopefully soon they will be going strong.
Thanks again.
Brad.