Temperature and Hides for Dragons

My hab is looking rather bare. One, I just cleaned it and haven't put the hides back in... but also two, I like to keep cleaning easy. I usually have two hides in, one on the warm side and one on the cool, but my Figment doesn't use either one of them. He stays up on his basking branch 90% of the time, unless I've put crickets in for him - and that's one reason I took the hides out, because I had to keep chasing the crickets around the hab to pull them out when he didn't eat all of them. He sleeps on the branch.

So, do dragons really need hides? Is it something he'll use more as he gets older? Should I pick up an adult sized hide at the reptile expo tomorrow, and hope he'll use that? The two I have right now are sized for him at present. I was contemplating getting another climbing branch instead of a hide, but don't want him to feel that he doesn't have what he needs.

And I'm confused about my temperature readings. I just read the sticky post about temp guns, and how they need to be 2" away from the surface you're testing; I retested, and while my basking spot is good and hot (temp 108.5 directly under the bulb, cooler on various surrounding branches - just checked with my mini ZooMed temp gun), not even six inches away down the branch the temperature drops to 87.5. Is this normal? Acceptable? The bulb is a brand new 75w. The cool side of the tank is 77 - 79.5, measured this morning and just now. Our house is generally between 69 and 70 degrees, but the computer room, where the hab is, tends to stay warmer because of the heat lamp.

Here is what his hab looks like; it's a 40BR tank.

Yes he needs hides ---- or atleast one- whether hes using now or not he will --- he is little - and it sounds like you have a gradient going for temps on the basking area which is good Hiccup sits at different places under his basking light - so he isnt restricted to one temp--- if he wants extreme he climbs to the top of his log or if he wants low he props himself up on the lower part of long and lays flat on the tile floor or sometimes he stands and leans on the log -- here is a pic of the tank and log
it the log on left ---
Karrie

I like your hide in the far corner - that one looks nice and roomy! What I have right now was given to me by a herp friend; one wood half round and one ceramic rocky-looking thing. I'll put the wood one back in on the warm side, and will worry about getting him a bigger hide when he actually gets bigger and seems to be using one, then.

~Chris

That hide/ platform came from PetSmart as most of the decor as well-- I can't remember where I got rock from
Karrie