DragonCrest Reptiles

Kenyan Sand Boa Care Sheet

Kenyan Sand Boas are quite easily raised if you follow some simple guidelines. 

Housing:

Kenyan Sand Boas are a small boa species and therefore require smaller housing than their larger cousins.  A standard ten gallon tank and screen lid will comfortably house most adult sand boas.  I prefer to use Sterilite or other brand plastic shoe and sweater boxes (rack systems) for housing.  They are cheaper, unbreakable, and easier to clean.  Kenyan Sand Boas are burrowers by nature, and I feel that a glass aquarium is wasted on them since they are almost always hidden from view, making them a poor display animal  Even though they tend to keep out of sight most of the time,  a locking lid for aquariums is necessary to prevent escapes. 

I use belly heat with my Kenyans since they are burrowers.  You can use a reptile heat mat with aquariums or heat tape with the plastic shoe boxes or sweater boxes, such as that used in rack systems that house multiple animals.  A rheostat or thermostat must be used with any heating sourse to ensure that the animal has proper heat.  Place the heat tape or heat pad on one end of the enclosure so that a heat gradient of around 75 degrees for the "cool" end to around 90 degrees for the "warm" end.  A heat gradient is necessary to allow the animal to choose either the cool or warm end to regulate its own body temperature.  It is vitally important that the temperatures be taken with a thermometer and not felt by hand or otherwise guessed.   

Clean water should be provided in a heavy bowl, untippable at all times.

Substrate:

For neonate Kenyan Sand Boas, I usually use layers of paper towels or sometimes newspapers.  They will hide underneath them, but it is easy to keep clean and cheap to replace.  I use shredded aspen bedding for my adults.  I do not recommend using any type of sand for substrate.  It has been known to harbor bacteria and is not at all absorbent.   I have used crushed walnut shells for substrate in the past with mixed results.  Its expensive and heavy, but absorbent and you can scoop out feces with a cat litter scoop to spot clean in between regular cleanings.  I have since switched exclusively to aspen bedding. 

Do NOT use pine or cedar shavings for substrate!  The oils in the wood have been known to be toxic to snakes.  

Feeding:

Once settled in after a few days, you can offer your Kenyan Sand Boa some food.  A good rule of thumb is to offer food items that are about the same diameter as the girth of the snake at its widest point.  A newborn sand boa should be offered day-old pinkie mice.  As the snake grows, the feeder mice should increase in size in proportion to the snake's girth.  I feed baby sand boas one food item every 5-7 days.  Babies grow much faster than adults and will need to eat a bit more often as a result.  Juveniles are fed about once a week and adults every 7-10 days.   

It is good practice to remove the snake from its enclosure and place it in a feeding chamber. This can be a deli cup with air holes cut into it for neonates or plastic shoeboxes for adults.  Most Kenyan Sand Boas will accept frozen thawed or prekilled rodents with no problems.  If they do not take the food item immediately, leave them in the food container overnight with the food item.  I have also added a piece of paper towel to the food container to add a bit of security for a snake that might be reluctant to take food at times.  It is safe to offer live pinkies or fuzzies of appropriate size to your snake if it is unwilling to take frozen/thawed or prekilled food but never leave a live hopper or older live mouse in with a snake at any time.  It is well documented that a mouse, even a very small one, will attack and seriously injure or kill a snake that is unwilling to feed.  

Any food item that is uneaten overnight should be removed.  I usually skip a day before trying again.  Most young Kenyan Sand Boas are voracious eaters, but adults, especially males, will occasionally skip meals.