Okay, so I decided to get Sparx a longer aquarium (20L) instead of a tall and now my tanks temperature is sitting at about 95*F. I am just wondering if it'd be okay if I cover some of the screen with something so it holds more of the heat in. I think since I have a larger screen area now it's allowing a lot of the heat to escape. Currently, I have a 65W basking light, ReptiSun 10.0 (tube) and a CHE. I'll try upgrading the basking light - but I won't be able to get to a pet store for about a week so I'll need to fix it for the time being. Any tips to give it a makeshift fix?
Foam and cardboard should provide decent insulation. Just be sure to keep it far enough from the bulb so they don't ignite. If you have a lamp stand you could take the screen top off and move the basking light a bit closer to the basking spot perhaps (keeping it far enough away so that it can't be touched). For longer term I'd get a strong bulb and adjust downward using height adjustments or a lamp dimmer. I've found it to be much easier to cool a high power light than to make up for an underpowered one.