New soon-to-be beardie mom - set up help

[Akg12saurus]

Hello All,

Excited to join the community! My dragon will hopefully be on his way next week as long as we stay away from low temps and winter storms.

I am working on making sure that I have everything setup and working before his arrival and would appreciate input. I have two issues I am working through - basking temps and other side of tank temps.

Setup:
I have a 60+ gallon open-front terrarium and I am having some trouble (I think) with lighting and ambient temps. There’s a 22” T5HO UVB light with fixture inside, across the center; Fluker’s 100W basking bulb in a dimmable dome light above the fake rock ledge and tree.

Issue 1:
As of right now the temp with a probe is at 95-ish on the rock ledge and 75-ish on the tree trunk (see pics for set up). I’ve used the infrared gun to measure the rock ledge (specifically pointed at the rock) temp and it’s running between 102-113 degrees, while the probe shows 95.
1st question - do I need to be worried about the rock ledge getting too hot or just the air?
2nd - should I dim the light and/or the rock ledge and add another light in the basking spot?

Issue 2:
The ambient temp on the other side is between 69-72 degrees both night and day.
1st question - Do I need to add a light to bring the temps up to 80-ish degrees there?
2nd question - Would 69-70ish be a good temp for nighttime? My dragon will be about 2-3 months old once I get him.

Thanks in advance!

 

[CooperDragon]

That looks like a very nice setup! It sounds like you're pretty close with the lighting. Don't worry too much about the ambient temps. The temp gun reading of the surfaces may be a little bit off, depending on the surface being measured. Probably best to rely on the probes unless just doing a quick spot check. I'd probably leave it as it is and give your new buddy some time to settle in and observe how they use the space. If they are constantly in the warmest areas basking, you might try a different type or slightly higher wattage bulb. You could hang a light fixture from an adjustable stand to help you raise/lower the light more easily when using a stronger bulb - then let the dimming handle fine tuning. If they are hanging out on cooler surfaces, they may prefer that and it's OK. It may take a while to tweak everything to their liking. The nighttime temps sound OK too, so no need for a heat projector bulb.