features question

[SpikeyBoo]

We've had our bearded dragon for about 8 months now and he's outgrowing his tank. I'm building a custom one (to fit our floor-space) and I'm trying to get an idea of how to lay it out. There are 2 features that he uses heavily that I was trying to base the design around:

1) we have a slanted rock and he used to use that a lot for basking and the more heat he wanted, the further up he'd go. He now hangs off of it and looks rediculous, so we were going to try to put some tiered rocks by the heat lamp to get the same effect.

2) about 2 months ago we noticed he was burrowing behind the tank backdrop at night and for brief times in the day. We put in a small den/cave and he now uses that to sleep in or cool off during the day for short times, but he's also outgrowing that. One thought was to make the tiered rock thing hollow to allow for him to use that as a cave.

Do those things make sense to the more experienced bearded dragon owners? Also, as I'm designing it, it feels like there's very little flat ground left. Right now he spends most of his time climbing on things anyway. Should I even worry about how much open ground is in the tank.

Last question is this: I've heard a rule of thumb is 4 - 4.5 sq feet per adult bearded dragon. Does that sounds right?

Thanks

[zebrajanie]

At least 3' long and 2' wide as well as 18" tall is the minimum.. any larger is of course, your choice.

[ladyknite]

Actually 4.5 (not 6 feet) Square feet of floor space is acceptable (40 gallon breeder tank).  That's 36 x 18 x 18