Kenyan Sand Boa Care

Housing:
These guys do not require a lot of space, I like to think of them as the ‘Betas’ of the snake world. Primarily I keep my snakes in Sterilite (sweater boxes) for ease of cleaning and to save space but we do keep some in aquariums. I will keep up to three babies in a 7 quart container that is approximately 9” x 13" and use 34 quart containers that are approximately 20” x 32” to house full grown trios (one breeder size male and two breeder size females). A 10 gallon aquarium could keep two full grown Kenyan Sand Boas (“KSB”) and a breeder 20 gallon long aquarium could easily house an adult trio. We keep a 55 gallon aquarium in our living room and house one sample of each of the KSB morphs we own (typically about 6 KSBs up to about 80 grams each). On a side note, Braxton my oldest son helps me ‘escape proof’ and build our 7 and 34 quart containers and he always has a couple new ones at our table for sale at the shows. They just don’t require a lot of room, however, they do require heat. You’ll need to heat 1/3 of the tank and allow the other side to be room temperature. With aquariums we use a heat pad connected to a thermostat, the heat pads are notorious for spiking in temperatures exceeding 140 degrees so keeping a diffuser or thermostat on your heat pads is a must to avoid life threatening burns. We use 3” heat tape regulated by a thermostat in our racks, and have had success using bottom or side heat. I keep my KSBs hot, I like them to be between 100 and 105 degrees.
Your KSB may prefer it a bit cooler but don’t drop the warm side of the tank below 90 degrees or they’ll risk getting respiratory infections. They DO NOT like a high humidity level, however, they do like to have water always available for drinking. We keep a small bowl of water on the room temperature side of the tank and drill holes in our Sterilite lids above the location of the water dish to keep the humidity levels lower. This isn’t a problem with aquariums because of the mesh lids, I keep a much larger water dish in the aquarium because the humidity levels tend to be to low and the snakes can develop problems shedding. By leaving a larger bowl they are able to soak in it if they are having a problem shedding.

Bedding:
We use burrowing sand in our aquariums but we wet it down first so it compacts like Kenyan Sand Boas more natural environment. I know people have used loose sand successfully but I worry about them ingesting it and the inhaled dust affecting their respiratory system. Most long time enthusiasts eventually turn to Aspen shavings because the KSBs seem to love it, it is easy to spot clean and inexpensive. DO NOT use cedar or pine shavings because they have oils in them that are known to be harmful to reptiles. Other ok substrates would be sani-chips, newspaper shredded and paper towels.

Feeding:
Kenyans are live bearers and after the baby sheds they will readily accept a live pinky. You can feed the babies as often as every week and as they get older back off to every other week. A good rule of thumb when deciding what size mouse to feed is to not feed anything that is much more around then they are. After a few months I start working to get my KSBs on F/Ts (Froze and Thawed out mice) and most make the switch without much of a problem.

Cleaning:
Every long time breeder has heard a 'horor' story about someone elses mite preventer. I've settled on 'Provent-A-Mite', however, I've heard horor stories about it too. In fact, if you ask any breeder they will diseminate all the mite preventers except for the one they use. Provent a mite is easy to use, you put the beddign into the sterilite and you spray it for about 1 second (with the snake and water dish removed) and let it sit for a few minutes and then put your snake and water back in. It is a pro-active product to 'provent' mites so it has to be used in your regular cleaning routine. While the reptile community is divided on the best mite preventer they seem united on the best cleaning solution....Nolvasan. I purchase it by the gallon concentrate and dillute it into a spray bottle about two caps full to a liter of water, about half the recommended concentrate. After rinsing of the cage I spray it with Nolvasan and wait a couple of minutes before washing it off.