Sulcata habitat idea

[Timt5352]

We are currently doing research and making plans on purchasing a Sully in the very near future. My 10yo son is a driving force in the subject, and has done an impressive amount of research on his own to try and sway my wife and I.....I'm on board, Mom may have turned the corner finally, lol. We have plenty of yard space, but my main concern has been with our winter weather (Southern Illinois) and knowing it would need to come indoors for the winter. Our current plan is to purchase an adult, something past the infant stage and into the 20" range.

Our home has a large 2 car garage with a decent sized work area at the front end of one stall. My thoughts are to sacrifice my workspace and build a hybrid indoor/outdoor habitat. The dark lines in the picture are the existing walls of the house, with the red lines being my idea for an outdoor area.....with a dog door type passthrough cut into the garage. Inside the garage is a heated/humidified box, as well as a small "patio" area that would be underneath an Eastward facing window. I would do a dirt/substrate floor on the patio.....just a place he could move around a bit and soak up a little sun while we are at work.

Would a design like this work for a Sulcata? Any suggestions?

 

[wellington]

The only indoor space is the 5x7? That would be way too small for winter. Even though Adult sulcatas can be allowed to go out in winter, even in the snow, they won't stay out for long and need a large indoor space for those many days they will be mostly inside.
The floor would not be able too stay cement in the garage area, way too cold. If you could put insulation on the floor and then a wood floor over that, and seal the wood, that would help keep the floor from getting cold and damp.

 

[wellington]

Either build a insulated heated shed, or give at least a whole stall of a large garage to it for winter housing.

 

[Timt5352]

Either build a insulated heated shed, or give at least a whole stall of a large garage to it for winter housing.

The 5x7 area would be the heated shed inside the garage. There would be an additional 8.5 x 7, possibly 10 x 7 area fenced in inside the garage where I would do an insulated, substrate floor. Plus he would have the ability to go through the "doggy door" to the outside if he chose. I figured the indoor "patio" area would give him an option between the winter cold outside and the box. The garage is heated and insulated as well, and stays around 70 even on the coldest days.

 

[wellington]

Okay I see. I think that would work then.