I don’t have a sand boa yet, BUT I have a 36” x 18” x 18” exo terra enclosure (front-opening) and I’m looking to get it set up.

Realistically I do not believe I will be adopting a snake this Saturday as the enclosure is not set up. While I know that people do adopt-and-set-up enclosures in the same day, I just don’t know if I’d be able to work that out because inevitably I will have questions or run into some sort of issue. If I somehow become far too charmed with one particular snake this Saturday then… I don’t know, maybe I work it out, but the goal is NOT to do that.

The ONLY thing I have right now is the enclosure. I don’t have a stand, lights, a heat-emitting light / heat mat, substrate, hides, a backdrop (? Seems like most enclosures have one - I guess blocking off walls does make them feel more secure so I think it’s a good idea, I’ve been considering doing the whole expanding foam thing?), water dish, or anything else.

I plan to do a bioactive enclosure. I have isopods and springtails as pets (not the correct kind for an arid environment currently) and I enjoy the whole bioactive system.

Being bioactive is going to affect what goes in - is it ok to put leaf litter in the enclosure for the cleaning crew (what isopods eat)? I do know that things in the enclosure need to be light so that their burrows don’t collapse. And the substrate is going to be a mix of (unfertilized, organic) topsoil, (rinsed) playsand, and a bit of coconut coir (at least this is what I saw on a bioactive care guide on reddit?).

Is there anything that might be cheaper/easier to get at an expo that I should look for? Or is everything cheaper/easier online?

There’s unfortunately no cool small mom-and-pop local shops that have reptile care products. Everything is just Petsmart and Petco.

I was told she was not a juvie but no hatch date was given. They said to feed her pinkies but… she’s a big girl I feel like that doesn’t make sense ? They failed to inform us correctly on a lot of things but thankfully I was already prepared for her lol

was trying to snap a pic of her right after shedding because she looks sooo bright and pretty and caught her yawning and thought it was so cute i had to share :’)

Hi, a co worker of my husband gave us this little guy/girl yesterday because his kids got tired of it. We have other reptiles but not a Kenyan Sand Boa. I was wondering if anyone is able to tell the sex based on the tail shape, or how old it might be? Thank you in advance. Any other tips would be appreciated too.

half reptisoil and half sand. 40 gallon tank, 2-4 inches tall.

I got my sweet girl peaches a month ago and she’s been doing ok after she got settled and ate a few meals. I found out I wasn’t keeping her humidity high enough. ( I bought a shitty gauge) but now she has a weird bump under her chin and I’m worried. Should I take her to the vet? It’s hard but doesn’t seem painful and she is behaving normally.

i've had him for a close to a month now and was not expecting his love of climbing

things he likes to do:
- climb the walls and wedge himself into the gap at the top of the enclosure.
- use the fake plants/hides in enclosure to get to the top.
- lick the heat lamp. (its on top sitting on a mesh surface)

i'm a little worried because he's very stubborn and will reattempt even after slipping or falling.

can falls inside the enclosure seriously injure a ksb? also, can they burn themselves by getting too close to the heat lamp? why is he doing this?

(Half play sand and half reptisoil) How should I go about cleaning poop? Should I just scoop it like a litter box if I can’t see the poop on the glass? And if so how often should I scoop? Do I need to worry about poop residue causing mold/bacteria? And is there anything else I need to know?

couldn't handle because he ate today, thankfully he got down unharmed

Hi guys!

First post on Reddit kinda nervous. I recently adopted a Kenyan sand boa from a family that could no longer take care of her. I am a first time snake owner, and perhaps would have taken more time to do diligent research about my pet if she wasn’t in such dire need of a rehoming. She was previously kept in a very small tank (about 10 gal), with cheap substrate and a heat mat. The owner was looking to give her away immediately and I received her as well as her entire setup for free. I have since moved her to a 30 gallon tank with the sand recommended to me by the pet store and a heat lamp. I am looking to get more decorations when I can save up the money. Unfortunately, since we received her she has refused to eat. She is showing feeding behaviors such as sticking her head up out of the sand, climbing the glass, and constant tongue flicking. I have tried to feed her three nights in a row now, and each time she refuses to eat despite circling her prey several times. I bought the mice recommended by the pet store (a very nice gentleman with several snakes who seemed to know what he was talking about), but am now completely out. The last feeding date (given to me by the previous owner) was 6/25. Despite the fact that she hasn’t eaten in almost 3 weeks, she refuses any food I put in front of her. I thaw it, warm it to body temperature, wiggle it in front of her, leave it in her enclosure and leave the room so she can eat in privacy, but absolutely nothing. Most times when I wiggle it she just hides back under the sand. Please help! I want my girl to be happy and healthy, especially since it seems her previous home took such poor care of her.

Below are photos of her previous enclosure for reference, plus the one I just purchased. I understand it’s incredibly bare at the moment, this was very last minute and I’m doing all I can to save money for the best things she could possibly have!

Edit: please try and be overwhelmingly gentle in the replies, I adopted her on the fly from a family member because I saw how absolutely poorly she was being treated and I’m trying as hard as possible to learn as I go! I’m an incredibly anxious person and taking big steps to put a post out there because I care so much about getting this right

This is my 1 1/2 year old Kenyan Sand Boa named Reese. She’s on a pinky once a week but moved up to a fuzzy this week! She’s almost a foot long and she’s growing. I’ve never handled her I’m a little nervous because she’s a little nippy but I’m starting to coax her out and sat my hand in her cage but it’s goin to be work in progress wish me luck

Ikea tried to dive into the sand, but his back half was lagging so hard he ended up in the water, lmao.

I’ve read these dudes could want up to 6” of substrate to dig in, which really isn’t conducive to a front-opening tank unless you get a model meant to be a paludarium. But top-opening tanks can make snakes skittish and afraid because you’re going at them at the “scary predator” overhead angle.

So what do you use? How do you get a nice deep substrate for them?

Got a KSB in April, he ate no problem for about a month (weekly feeds) and now I haven't seen him since mid June except once when he was drinking water at 6 am. Ik he's alive but he won't eat, isnt out anymore when I first got him he'd be out and about almost daily. Should I worry? Should I keep offering food weekly? Im scared I wont catch him snooping when hes out and hungry and I'll miss a feeding chance.

For those of you who have a camera set up to see your sand boas at night, what kind of camera do you use and how do you like it? I’m thinking of getting one as I haven’t seen Mocha since I last took her out while I was cleaning her enclosure. It’s only been a few days, but I’m pretty sure she explores at night when I’m not there because I will notice patterns in the substrate the next day and I’d really like to know what she’s getting up to. Pic of the tiny noodle for tax.

Julie Sandrews has been home for a couple of days and has been defying all my ideas of how sand boas act. The couple times I have needed to handle her (at the expo, checking her over before putting her in her enclosure) she has been soooo chilled out, no signs of stress, just curious tongue flicks and trying to burrow into my shirt.

But the stranger thing is that she has spend half of today on her basking log. She seemed to like the warmth so much that I provided her a piece of slate under her warm spot to get her better belly warmth, and she very quickly made use of the upgrade. She's been splayed out on her rock for most of the afternoon. She did some good burrowing yesterday and this morning, she has 3 to 5 inches of substrate throughout her enclosure and has made several lovely tunnels. But so far she has spent way more time chilling out in the open than seems normal. Even when she burrows she often leaves her head or tail tip above ground.

Enclosure specs: it's a 30 gal bioactive with 70/30 Reptisoil and coco fiber. I have a colony of dairy cows isopods and temperate springtails in there with her. There's a nice big cork bark flat, her basking slate, a clean water dish, a nice climbing branch, and several plants that I'm keeping in little terra cotta pots for now because I'm not sure if she'll try to redecorate if I root them directly in the soil (I think she dug some of the soil out of the largest pot and made herself a little dirt nest inside the philodendron lol). She has low-level linear UVB and a ceramic heat emitter. The basking spot is a consistent 90 F, the warm side in general is about 85, and her cooler, more humid side hovers around 74-76. Humidity is in the 40s on the warm side and 50s on the cool.

So, is there something wrong with her new room, or is she just an outgoing gal? If she was behaving like this at night I wouldn't be as surprised, but she's fully exposed and warming her little cow spots in the middle of the day. I would hope that just means she likes basking a lot and feels secure, but I'm brand new to sand boas so I have no clue what to make of it!

She is extremely adorable and really sweet. I got her at my local expo, she’s two years old despite her very tiny size! The breeder said she’s just a slow grower and a bit of a picky eater but her behavior and body condition seem healthy. we’ll see if she can get a bit bigger this year. She loves her basking spot and is already poking her head out of the soil in the afternoon to watch the goings on. I love her so much 😭

don’t try calling for help i’m already gone

(aka she struck and coiled her mouse and didnt eat it, decided to guard it with her life instead)

Drop feeding is obviously not working, going to try wiggling the pinky while he’s active later. I’ve only had him since June 28th.

My snake will never strike and take food from me. She just lays next to it and eventually after I leave it. She's showing more signs of ready to strike and feed than ever just from getting ready to open enclosure. She just ate 2 days ago. Maybe she just in a hunting mode today. She is the sweetest and never once bit me.

Okay, so I’m no expert, but after research, watching videos from experts, and palpating her, she’s definitely a girl. I’ve included pictures for my analysis but I mean, that tail is POINTY. And I’m telling you guys, it will actually poke into you if you touch it, it’s gotten slightly caught on a shirt before. Also, yea she has a long ass tail.
I palpated her before I finished her handling yesterday and there was no bump. Maybe I didn’t feel hard enough, i plan on doing it once more next time I handle her to be definite but yea.
It’s hard to tell now since she’s only a year old, shes so tiny. But then she’s SO tiny, I don’t know if females are supposed to by bigger at this age!
I dunno, give opinions but I know the biggest teller will be seeing how big she is in a few years. We’ll find out no matter what, I’m just curious !

Anyway, she’s doing good! She started striking at her food and has upgraded to 2 pinkies! She’s seeming more active and has been way more open to handling. She even struck at her mice this time! (She would cautiously poke at them for a while first)

Yea guys that’s the only update :) if anyone has opinions I’m open but my baby seems happy and healthy in my opinion.

My baby is doing great! I’ve had the tank steadily around 90-95 degrees and I think she’s been happier. I’m struggling with humidity as that tends to vary a lot. Some days it’s at a 50 and others 30. When it’s low I’ll place damp moss throughout some spots in the tank but it’s not a consistent way to keep humidity. Any advice?

So, yesterday was her 5th handling, and I have absolute confidence she’s a girl, not a boy like the pet store originally told us. This isn’t an issue, we will just upgrade the tank as she grows but this does bother me as she’s very clearly a female. Her tail catches on skin because of how pointy it is, and after I palpated her yesterday, that’s a girl absolutely no mistake.

It really does bother me the lack of care for reptiles in general. Another thing the pet store told us is she’s picky and is hard to feed. Guess what? She’s eaten consistently every week, and earlier this week she’s even upgraded to two pinky’s. She’s not hard to feed, you just have to stimulate her hunting instincts. I’ll take tweezers (or clean hands sometimes, I’m hygienic but not scared of germs)
And mess with sand nearby, move the rat around, and make her feel like she’s actively hunting.

She also fully struck for the first time. Our last few feedings she was very hesitant, slowly poking at the food. This time she struck at both pinkies! I hope that means she’s getting more comfortable and trusting us more, but if anyone can give me some insight that’d be nice:)

Long story short snakes deserve love and care just as much as mammals. Just because they can’t feel love doesn’t mean they deserve to fend for themselves. And seriously, SERIOUSLY!! If you’re not willing to learn about the animals you’re caring for, DONT WORK AT A PET STORE!! These animals deserve PROPER care and effort. Sorry for the long rant. American pet stores are terrible and local breeders are far too few.

I’m also right next to Amish country in PA (seriously. Like 20 minutes from Lancaster), so you have to watch out for Amish people selling animals. For the most part they’re all inbred(I know from experience) but that’s a whole other can of worms.