you need to either bring the heat lamp closer to the bearded dragons, or the bearded dragons closer to the heat lamp. I usually keep my heat lamp just out of reach of the reptile, which means that it's always less than a foot away from the basking spot. With a 45 watt halogen bulb in a cage almost the same size as yours (4'x2'x2'), I can get basking temperatures up to 180 surface temps (which obviously are not useful, but just an example). My bearded dragon has a basking temp of about 125f, and he's about 9-10" away from the heat lamp.



Granted these are wooden cages, but in the bearded dragon cage I have added an extra large vent somewhat near the basking spot because without it I was unable to get the temperature low enough.



Most reptile bulbs are highly innefficient as well. For a comparison, I have the 45 watt halogen bulbs in two of my 4'x2'x2' enclosures (for my bearded dragon and one of my uromastyx), and in the third I have a 150 watt red reptile flood bulb, and I'd have to say that higher temps are more easily achieved with the low wattage halogens. In that respect, however, you have to be more careful with halogen bulbs as it is easier to cause burns. Especially if you buy the spot bulbs or the bulbs with a clear hexagon in the center of the lens. Always get flood bulbs that don't have that clear hexagon (so it has that textured appearance all across the lens).





That's my basic advice to you. Find a way to move the bulb closer to the reptiles. Also, the way vision has their light shrouds is only affective if they are stacked. Otherwise you are losing more heat through the top than is penetrating into the enclosure. That's why it is easier to heat any enclosure with the lights on the inside as opposed to resting on the screen top.



75 degrees is a fine ambient. The basking temps are the problem.



P.S. The room that I keep those three enclosures in is currently 67 degrees f. I have a cattle trough in my basement for my russian tortoise breeding group that has basking temperatures over 120 and an ambient temperature of roughly 70f. That has enclosed lights but only plexiglass covering the top, and the temperature in the basement is only 59 degrees f right now. It's all about picking the right lights for the right applications, and keeping them close to the animals you are trying to heat (obvious exception: snakes).

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