Sand Boa advie pls....

[avantgarde]

Just got a small Kenyan Sand Boa a few days back. He's about 8.5inches currently feeding on pinkies. I temporarily placed him on a 2.5 gallon tank with wood shavings as substrate, a small water dish for water, and a screen top so that he doesn't escape.

I was thinking of changing the substrate to sand to make his environment a little more natural and it is really more pleasing for my eyes.

I've spent time doing my research over the net on how to properly take care of my new ksb but i still need inputs from the masters.

Just a few questions:

Question1: Can sand get through their nose and possibly cause problems?

Question2: With his relatively young age, can he be placed on sand substrate? If not what size would he be ready for sand?

Question3. Which sand would be better. very fine sand (like baby powder) or normal sand from the beach (grain size like sugar)

[vfoerster]

No sand.... Causes problems period.

[jbt123]

I actually keep my baby KSB's and Rough Scales on sand and they absolutely love it. They are sand boas, after all! As long as you're not a complete doof and actually feed them in the sand (I feed mine outside the cage), no problems should occur. I use calcium sand for reptiles, it's a little grainy but I feel more comfortable with the bigger sand particles than with the really fine ones.
HOWEVER, if your sand boa is showing any signs of sickness (such as an RI or what-have-you), keep them on aspen until the sickness subsides.
ALSO if you use sand, invest in a "humid-hut" and put moist moss under it. Keep it in the enclosure 24/7. Also make sure that you have belly heat on the other side of the tank, AWAY From the humid hut and the water bowl. If you decide to stay with aspen shavings (sani-chips work better), put a piece of cardboard or plastic under it so it doesn't get the shavings wet (that can cause mold). You don't have to do this if you use sand: it gets the sand under it moist and they love to "romp" around in it. And YES, sand boas do drink water (not often, but they do!). I've "caught" one of mine in the act before...and I had a pic of it, but I can't find it!X__X;

My reason for not liking aspen shavings for sand boas is that they get their sense of security by the weight of the object/substrate on top of them. You would have to use ALOT of shavings to give them that sense of security. If you decide not to use sand, get Sani-chips. They're great. They give them that added sense of security because of how densely they cover the bottom of an enclosure.

Honestly, I think I'm probably going to switch them over to Sani-chips in the near future, just because it's cheaper than sand if you buy it in bulk AND sand is REALLY HEAVY, not good for racking systems. Other than that, sand is great, and they seem to love it more than anything else.

[leoares27]

I used to have a Saharan sand boa...had him on aspen for a long time...after about 6 months, he stopped eating (some say due to mating season)
well, after trying EVERYTHING, we swiched him to sand...BAM, started eating again and we never had another problem...
We used play sand from home depot...clean and inexpensive...make sure it is deep enough for him to hide

[telefrag]

I've used sand for KSB for over 10 years, no problems.

They just don't act the same in anything else.

do NOT use the silica (white sand) only the play sand or the other types specifically made for animals.

[BWSmith]

I keep mine on sand with a humid hide available. I do feed in a deli cup to be on the safe side. I see no danger of ingestion or other problems that way and it still gets to "swim" in the sand.

[reptilicus81]

I keep and breed rough scales and Kenyans on aspen. I have and will never use sand, and I have had no problem with aspen period. Actually, in the wild many sand boas are not in pure sand, especially rough scales, so it isn't always the most natural.

Sand holds water better than aspen. If you switched a snake to sand and it started eating, I would assume you had low humidity prior to the switch, and that the humidity sparked feeding behavior again.

Many substrates can cause impaction, especially when the animal is fed on the substrate. Sand can be used successfully, but there are certainly more risk factors.
Here is a link of a beardie with an impaction from calci-sand (the glowing stuff is the sand):
http://images.beardeddragon.org/imag...mpaction01.jpg

IMO use with caution!

	In My Opinon IMO = In My Opinion and IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

[BWSmith]

Bearded Dragons and other lizards are much different than snakes. I have scooped countless pounds of sand out of impacted beardies. However, with snakes, the chances of ingesting substrate if the animal is not fed in cage is next to zero. Of course Aspen and other substrates work well too. As is true with most reptile husbandry, there is no one "right" way.

[jbt123]

Bearded Dragons and other lizards are much different than snakes. I have scooped countless pounds of sand out of impacted beardies. However, with snakes, the chances of ingesting substrate if the animal is not fed in cage is next to zero. Of course Aspen and other substrates work well too. As is true with most reptile husbandry, there is no one "right" way.

Agreed.

[John_E_Dove]

Researching the actual terra that most East African Sand Boas are found on, by contacting national parks in both Kenya and Tanzania, I learned that "Sand Boas" are most often found in loose soil with little sand in its make up.
That said I did keep my East African Sand Boas in play sand for a time and fed them in their enclosures. I am sure that anyone who has done this can attest to the fact that you will find sand in their feces. It was my mentioning this fact to Morti in a chat and his pointing out that I could be endangering my “big worms”, a