Sir Henry of Scales's new home!

The installation of Sir Henry's new home is finally complete! It is a 4'x2'x2' thick melamine enclosure with a solid top, side vents, and glass doors. The base is made from 2 kitchen cabinets from Home Depot that give a lot of storage room.

The UVB fixture is a 36" Arcadia Pro T5 & Shade Dweller with a reflector and a 34" Arcadia 12% bulb. The heat lamp is a 100W ZooMed basking spot lamp. (Ignore the 75 on the box in the picture, that's a back up bulb for when it gets hotter in the summer or for emergencies. I don't have the 100W box anymore.) The front log basking spot is usually around 98°-100°. That location is 14" under the UVB and is his favorite spot.

Average temps taken with an IR gun are 100°- 106° for the back right basking spot. The hot side is between 95°-100°. Cool side is between 80° - 86°. I have one probe thermometer/hygrometer in the middle and it tends to match the temps under it when taken with the IR. I would like to get a couple more probes for the cool and hot side.

My only complaint is the UVB fixture is centered, so there is only a couple inches on each end of the enclosure that is UVB free. I tried to slide it down to the hot end some, but it appears I would have to take the whole enclosure apart to move it. Is this going to be a problem as it is? If so, how would I safely block part of the tube off to give him some more UVB free area on the cool side? I've never seen him try to leave the hot side of the enclosure, so I'm not sure if it matters that much.

My other question is if the 12% bulb is adequate, or do I need to move up to the 14%.

I'm so excited this project is complete, minus my dad getting the rest of the ceramic tiles cut to size for the floor, and maybe some minor decorating adjustments. Bye bye 20L tank!

Oh, and for reference regarding the temps, he is about 9 months old.

Looks good! If you aren't able to move the UVB to the side (or toward the front or back) to create more of a gradient, then I would set up some branches or add something like a habba hut or other kind of furniture that would produce some shade areas that he could move to if he didn't want the UVB.

Thank you. I do have some large grape vines coming for him to climb on. I should have clarified that the UVB fixture is centered left to right. Front to back, it is in the front 1/3 of the enclosure. He currently has 3 hides, one on each end, and one in the middle, all in the very back, that he can get into if he wants. I have just seen advice that they need to be able to get out of the UVB without hiding, so wanted to double check on that part.

Having the fixture cheated to the front like that will create a gradient going back. I Have mine set up that way and it works well.

Oh good. I was hoping its placement would work out. I wasn't looking forward to taking the enclosure apart, although I totally would do it if that is what was required.