Kenyan Sand Boa
(Eryx colubrinus)

Kenyan sand boas in the wild can be found from Egypt south to Tanzania and southwest Somalia west to Kenya. The Kenyan sand boa is a smaller snake and is only 26 to 32 inches long. Males are typically smaller and usually don't grow more that 15 inches. The Kenyan sand boa (E. c. loveridgei) and the Egyptian sand boa (E. c. colubrinus) have small heads, small eyes, short tails, and a heavy body. The belly and is white or cream colored in both subspecies. The Egyptian sand boa (E. c. colubrinus) is yellow with dark brown splotches. The Kenyan sand boa (E. c. loveridgei) is orange with dark brown splotches.

Difficulty

NOVICE: Because of their small size and generally easy demeanor, these are great snakes for the new hobbyist.

Requirements

An enclosure, such as:

• Glass or acrylic aquarium (10 gallons or more, depending on the size of the sand boa) with a secure lid with clamps
• Plastic shoe box or sweater box sized container

Substrate, such as:

• Aspen wood shavings
• Sand/soil mix

A heating element, such as:

• Under the tank heater
• Incandescent heat bulb
• Ceramic infrared heat emitters

Enclosure

The size of the enclosure you will need for your sand boa depends on the size of the snake. Young hatchling sand boas will often be timid and scared in too large of an enclosure while adult boa constrictors will need a larger enclosure to move around in and feel more comfortable. For younger, smaller sand boas, you can use a 5 gallon aquarium or a plastic shoe box container with a few small holes drilled at the top of the container to allow for ventilation. Adult sand boas should be housed in a larger enclosure like a 10 gallon (20 gallon for females) aquarium or a plastic sweater box sized container with ventilation holes.

Since sand boas spend most of their lives underground, things like drift wood or other decorations to climb on are not required for sand boas. You can still add accessories to create a visually appealing habitat however.

Always remember that sand boas, like all snakes are escape artists. They will always test your enclosure to see if they can get out. For this reason, you will always want to make sure that your enclosure has a secure lid that the snake can not push open. If using an aquarium, be sure to use a screen top with enough clamps to prevent the sand boa from pushing open the top. If using a plastic container, please be sure that the ventilation holes are small enough to prevent the snake from escaping. This is especially true for hatchling sand boas.

Substrate

The substrate or bedding that you use is one of the most important parts of your sand boa's home, since your snake will be spending all of its time on it. Sand boas require three to five inches of substrate that allows them to burrow. Aspen or a sand/soil mix often works best to provide an environment for the sand boas to create their own tunnels. If using a sand/soil mix a small amount of water can be added to the mix will help the stablize burrows.

Heating and Light

Sand boas are tolerant of a large range of temperatures from 60°F to 100°F, though they do best with an ambient daytime temperature of 80°F to 85°F with nighttime temperatures of 75°F to 80°F. A basking spot of 90°F to 95°F should be provided during the day. These temperatures can be achieved by using under the tank heaters, incadescent basking bulbs, or ceramic emitters. We recommend using a timer to automatically turn off your daytime heating and lighting elements at night. It's important to check these temperatures regularly with a thermometer. Many hobbyists will install thermometers or thermostats in the enclsosure to be able to accurately maintain these temperatures. We do not recommend the use of any kind of heat rocks as they can often lead to burns on your sand boa.

Diet

Sand boas can be fed rodents their entire lives. Hatchling sand boas will need to be fed pinkie mice, while adult sand boas can be fed adult mice, or even a small rat. It's important that you feed the appropriate sized prey to your sand boa. If the prey is too small, it may not be getting all the nutrtion that it needs, if it is too large it may spit the prey back up. A good rule to follow is to feed prey that is about 1½ times the size of the largest portion of your sand boa's body. Generally your snake will only need to eat about once a week, but younger sand boas may need to be fed more often. Your boas's appetite may also decrease in the winter months. As long as your snake still has good muscle tone, this is usually not anything to worry about. Fresh water should be provided at all times.

When feeding your sand boa, it is important that you feed it seperately from other snakes and in an area of the enclosure that is free from smaller wood shavings or other small items that could be inadvertently ingested with the food. We also find that thawed, pre-killed frozen rodents to provide the safest food source. Live rodents can injur your sand boa during feeding. The freezing process will also kill most parasites that the prey may be carrying. Most sand boas will easily take to the thawed prey with little effort.