• Tank – 20 Gallon
• Substrate – 10-15 qt
• Heating – overhead or undertank, if using an
undertank heater a
thermostat is required
• Digital Thermometer
• Water Dish
• 2 HidesFloor space is more important than climbing space with these snakes, so a 20 gallon tank or similar sized ExoTerra is perfect for these snakes.
To allow for their fossorial nature, 2-3 inches of coconut fiber bedding or a desert substrate is ideal. For baby sand boas a small about of substrate can be used to ease finding them to feed. Adults will prefer up to 4 inches of substrate
To allow for proper digestion of food, the warm side of the enclosure must reach 95 degrees, which is properly achieved with a basking light. The cool side of the enclosure should stay in the high 80’s. Not heat is required at night.
Overhead lighting should be turned off at night to maintain a day/night cycle.These desert animals do not require any additional humidity
ll snakes are strictly carnivores, and sand boa’s feed weekly on rodents. Adult snakes will eat less often than juveniles and may have decreased appetite in the winter.
Sand Boas should eat a prey item slightly larger than the circumference of the largest part of their body. The size of the head and neck can be ignored. A lump in the middle of the body should be apparent after feeding, if a lump is no longer seen it is time to move up the prey size. They generally eat once per week.
Live prey should never be left unattended with the snake. Frozen food must be completely thawed and warm before offering to the snake.
All snakes should be kept in their enclosure for feeding. It reduces the stress on the animals and makes them more likely to eat. Removing them from their caging does not make them less “aggressive” but can cause your snake to not want to eat.Because they spend most of their time in the substrate, all décor should be light weight and heavy ceramic pieces should be avoided. Small shallow water dishes are best for these snakes.
Spot clean your sand boa’s enclosure daily, removing any feces, urates, or shed skin. Full substrate changes should be done every 6 months unless a bioactive setup is in place.
When you approach your sand boa to pick it up, do not grab the snake from above, as this elicits a prey response since this resembles a bird or other predator snatching it up. As you are handling the snake, let it crawl over the open palms of your hands and support the whole body of the snake. These snakes should not be placed on shoulders or high up places, they do not have the ability to grip well.
A snake should never be held for at least 24-48 hours before or after a meal. They also should avoid being held while shedding.
One of the most common health issues with snakes will be respiratory infections, which will occur when the humidity is not kept at the proper levels. The most common symptom of a respiratory infection is loud breathing that sounds like wheezing or clicking.
Another possible health issue will be improper digestion, which occurs when the snake doesn’t have the proper temperatures on the warm side to aid in digestion. Because they are semi-arid, shedding usually is not an issue for these snakes, although you should still keep an eye out for stuck shed or stuck eye-caps.
Kenyan Sand Boa
Kenyan sand boas are native to North Africa. They are found in Egypt as far west as Niger.
Their eyes and nostrils are placed on the head so that they remain free of debris when the snake’s body is hidden below the sand.
Kenyan Sand Boas are ovoviviparous (young develop inside egg sacs incubated inside the female’s body). The young hatch live after a gestation period of 4 months inside the female’s body. There are typically 5-12 offspring. They do not receive nourishment from the mother while developing inside her.