Is there any rule of thumb concerning dishes when setting up habitat?

Question

I just bought a baby bearded dragon and brought the cage and all accessories home the day before to set up. I have everything. I went ahead and bought a 75 gal so I didn't have to worry about stepping up cage sizes as it grew. My question is about set up. Is there any rule of thumb when locating the water dish and the salad dish within the cage? He(not really sure if it's he or she but will go with he for now) has a ton of room right now being so little in a huge cage and even though it's only been a day hasn't seemed to get comfortable enough to explore the whole thing. Want to make sure I've got his goodies set up right.

Answer 1

Careful; in such a huge tank he is going to feel overwhelmed and vulnerable, and he might have a really tough time finding where the food is. You might want to move him down to a 10 or 20 if he's not eating.

There's no real rule of thumb. Just don't put the salad dish directly under the heat light because it makes it go bad much faster.

Answer 2

Put the dishes toward the cooler end. Mine are about half way so they aren't getting cooked by the heat lamp. I have a 75 gallon too for my adult. Babies may be overwhelmed in such a large tank and may find hunting for insects difficult. You could feed him in a separate smaller tank--just let him hoover up all the crickets he wants in 15-20 minutes and do this twice a day. When he's a bit bigger he'll have no trouble hunting in the tank. :) Even baby beardies should not be kept in anything smaller than a 30 gal. as it's impossible to have a proper heat gradient--cool on one side, warm on the other.

Fave sites:

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/home.html

http://www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/research/labs/ktosney/file/BD.html

Answer 3

a cat