New 75 Gallon Tank, lighting help!

[Superlea15]

So my beardie, Sherman is about 11 years old and lately he has been having breathing issues he was taken to the vet and said to have a RI and was given baytril but it hasn't worked at all, typical gapping mouth thing, and when he eats his food he doesn't swallow it, it just stays in his throat and over time it eventually goes down. I been trying to make his tank better, he was in a 55 gallon tank before and i recently purchased a 75 gallon tank he is on reptile carpet. The only lighting i had was a Zoo Med Reptile Basking Spot light 150 watt when he was in his 55 gallon. I been reading around and just am a tad confused if you could tell me what other lighting i might need. I feel terrible that i have only been giving him this one light if he actually needed another...I have a thermometer in his tank and in his basking area it gets around 100-110 degrees, and his cool side is around 85-95. He isn't very active at all either, that might be because he is old maybe? i am not sure, any advice would be great! Thank you!

 

[CooperDragon]

The light you're using is good for heat and bright white light. If your readings are accurate, it's doing a good job of that. I would even suggest raising the light a bit so that it produces maybe 100-105 on the basking area and brings the cool side down to about 75-80 if you can.

The other main component of lighting is UVB. Do you have a UVB light? If not, you'll want to put one in place. With a 75g tank you'll want a T5 bulb which should sit about 12'' above the highest point of the basking area for optimal output. The UVB light will mix with the heat and bright white light from your basking lamp and produce something similar to natural sunlight which is the goal. This is what I use and it should work very well http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

 

[vulcan2016]

yes uvb is a huge must as it helps them digest and absorb vitamin d 3 and calcium. I use a reptisun 10.0 on my 40 breeder. What is the humidity in the tank? that usually is the cause of respiratory infections when it is too high (it should only be between 20 to 40%

 

[Superlea15]

The only light i have is that 150 Zoo Med one, i thought it produced UVB? so your saying that if i stay with the light i have and get that other light i should be good? and i am not sure what my humidity is. Is there a good thermometer/hydrometer you would recommend?

 

[vulcan2016]

https://www.amazon.com/Pawliss-Digital-Terrarium-Thermometer-Hygrometer/dp/B017Z7Y6FK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472493244&sr=8-1&keywords=digital+hygrometer+thermometer+reptile

this one would be good a lot of people recommend digital for both because it is more accurate. you are also going to want to keep track of temps on the cool side too so two thermometers are a must

 

[CooperDragon]

The 150w ZooMed Repti Basking spot light is a heat lamp only, so yes, you'll need to get a UVB light as well. If you pick one up and set that next to the basking light it should do the trick and you'll be in good shape. I agree with having a thermometer that has multiple inputs so you can monitor the basking site and cool side surface temps. Another option is to pick up an IR temp gun like this https://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK