New dragon, lighting & heat questions

I've read through a lot of posts here, and also various info around the web. Lots of useful stuff, bt also some confusing stuff I'm sure I've got typical questions that have been asked many times, but I haven't found the exact answer to my specific question yet, so...

So we just got a new berdie, and of course I researched first, but now I'm researching more, and of course freaking out over the possibility that we've got it all wrong

We've got a 18"X36"X18" tank, with a 2 month old dragon in it. I got the tank and lighting fixtures on Craigslist.

I've got 2 single domes and 1 double dome, along with one 18" tube.

The single domes have 1 used ceramic & 1 new red. The double has a new 100W ZooMed ReptiBasking light & 1 used (unknown type) Compact UBV light. The tube is an AllLivingThings UVB light (only thing they had at the store).

The current setup is the 18" tube over the cool side, and the double dome on the hot side. The problem is that on his basking spot with this setup it's only getting to around 90F. I'm using a digital thermometer with a probe and placed it directly on the basking rock. All lights are sitting directly on the top screen.

The basking rock is pretty flat and sits on the bottom of the tank, and so is probably about 15" from the light.

However, if I also turn on the red light at the same time I'm getting 102F.

#1 Is having the red light on along with the double dome okay? I do notice a double shadow with some red shadow, etc.

#2 I also got a 150W Basking Bulb to try and increase the heat, but I immediately ruined it because it was so large the surface touched the screen, and then I moved the screen back (it slides) to feed him and within seconds it started melting the plastic rim around the tank and got melted plastic on it. So I'm back to the 100W and red bulb setup for now & kinda don't want to go back to a 150W bulb.

#3 Is the real solution here simply elevating the basking area closer to the light? Or should I put in 2 basking bulbs in the double dome or is that bad (too much heat?)

I also have an always on 6"X8" heating pad that I've got stuck to the side of the tank on the hot side. I don't use any lights or other sources of heat at night and wanted the heating pad just in case to ensure that there is at least always some source of heat. The pad is on the end of the tank at the bottom, so he can get very close to it if he wanted to, but I've never seen him lay directly against it, though I don't think he could even if he wanted to at his current size. He does typically sleep near it though, like within 4" of it. The room is in the low 70s at night, and the digital thermometer on the hot side has an all time low reading of around 72. The cool side gets around 68 at night.

Thanks

Hi
I'm a newbie too but I can try to answer some of your questions from what I've learned here!

Please don't use the red light as it affects how your dragon sees things. With the temps you've given for night time he doesn't need any heat unless it drops below 65f as its natural for them to have it cooler at night.
You shouldn't need any extra uvb lights with the tube as long as its minimum 10% UV & if its a t8 tube it would need to be mounted inside tank as the screen will filter some of the UV. I apologize if not explaining very well.
If you look in the enclosure's forum at the top there is a thread especially for newbies about lighting that will explain the ideal set up for your bd.
I'm sorry I can't post the link I'm not very technical.

Hope this has been some help

Kay

The heating pad isn't needed unless you're just trying to up the ambient temp. Dragons don't heat from the bottom up and they can burn if they are lying directly on it. They need overhead heat.

It sounds like it could be too cold in the tank at night so the little guy is getting close to the pad. It's important to have a gradient but I think you need to up your temps overall. You might want to look into a Ceramic Heat Emitter to provide heat without light.

I would add some height like a branch or some bricks to elevate the basking area to get the proper temps. It will also get your beardie closer to the UV which it may need as 15" is probably too far. Depending on the type of UV bulb you will need to be either 6-8" (T8) or 10-12" (T5) away from the basking spot. Is it a Desert bulb? And does it tell you what output it has?

It also helps if you post pictures of the viv. To do so go here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ upload your images then on your post press XIMG and choose which image to post.

Thanks for the replies. I'll clarify a few things.

I'm not using any lights at night. And actually I checked my temps this morning and the low temp on the "cool" side was actually 71 and the low on the warm side was 75 over night, so based on what I've read, this seems fine.

The heating pad is on the side on the tank, not on the bottom of the tank. I just have it there to add more ambient heat and it seems to be fine in that regard.

The more I think about this the more I think the issue is that the basking spot is too far away from the light.

I think my main questions are: #1 is using 2 heat lights okay, especially if one of them is a red light? and #2 is the real problem here distance from the light and should fix that before looking any other other solutions?

Fix the distance to the light first. Test temps and adjust lighting if needed at that point.

This weekend we made a 6" tall ramp type basking thing out of some old wood and it seems to be working well, sort of. In terms of temps it's now right on. I get 105F with the digital probe on top of basking zone, and the ramp gives him the option of regulating if he wants to be that warm or a little cooler.

However, after putting it in on Saturday I haven't seem him voluntarily climb on it a single time. I've put him on it a couple of times, usually just on the ramp and he hangs out there for a while or may go up to the top and sit for a few minutes, but then he gets off. Not sure what that's about.

Also, his crickets keep climbing up on the underneath side of it and hide there.

So now just the one 100w basking bulb is doing fine in terms of getting the basking temp right. The warm side of the cage not directly under the lamp is around 85F and the cool side is around 79F.

Overall the enclosure is cooler due to not running the red bulb at the same time, however he seems to be basking less. Maybe he's just getting used to it...

That sounds just about right. I'd keep it set as-is and let him get used to it. He may not feel like basking (at least at the times you're watching) or is just getting used to the changes. They don't seem to like changes too much and take some time to adjust.