A separate feeding enclosure may also be necessary if you are housing more than one snake in a habitat or if you use a substrate that can possibly be ingested. Others feel it is unwise to move the snake to a strange environment, expect it to perform a natural behavior immediately, and then expect it not to throw up when it is handled for the purpose of placing it back in its main home.
Since Kenyans can be kept communally, with two females or a pair housed together, a separate feeding area may be needed. Two females or a mated pair that get along well most of the time may fight vigorously around feeding time and will need to be separated.
What will you be feeding your boa? A very young snake can only manage pinkies for quite a few months. After that they will graduate to fuzzies, and then hoppers. These terms refer to feeder mice, rats have their own designations. The size of the prey you choose will depend on whether or not the snake can both swallow and digest it.
When in doubt, consider the width of the diner. That is, prey should be no wider than the widest part of the snake's body. Is live prey superior? Some keepers believe that live prey offers the ability for the snake to perform natural behaviors.
Others claim that this is nonsense and that a rich environment and positive interaction with a human handler should provide sufficient stimulation. The advantages of pre-killed, frozen dinners over live chow are:.
Pre-killed offerings can last in the freezer for up to six months. Remember to thaw it completely in the refrigerator and warm it to slightly above room temperature before feeding it to your snake. Do not use a microwave for this. Cleaning the habitat is fairly straight forward and should be done lightly once a week, and thoroughly once a month. Attending to sanitation weekly is something you will thank yourself for, because snake feces can become rank in a musty way that is distinctively snake and definitely unpleasant.
This is one time where a separate container for your snake is handy. If using supplemental heat beneath a Tupperware or other plastic box, be sure to slip a hand towel over the heating element so it does not come into direct with the plastic.
Also, preheat the box for at least 10 minutes before placing the snake inside. Proper feeding and sanitation can help to prevent most common illnesses in Kenyans. For example, blister disease is associated with damp, filthy environments and effects the bottom most scales, the scutes, that are in constant contact with the filth.
The scutes develop a reddish appearance and if untreated they become swollen and infected by bacteria and fungi. The habitat must receive a comprehensive cleaning immediately and the snake must see a vet, who will probably administer an injectable antibiotic, followed by a course of topical treatments administered twice daily by the owner. Other conditions such as mouth rot, respiratory infections, and fungal infections are often a function of poor care or a dirty environment.
Mouth rot is a very common outcome of a filthy habitat. It is often first noted as a pus lined mouth, or bubbling nostrils. When this is discovered the animal should see the vet ASAP. Antibiotics and mouth rinsing twice a day may be required not fun for anyone. A disease that is particularly prevalent and virulent for Kenyans is inclusion body disease IBD , a virus transmitted through contact with bodily fluids.
This disease can be spread by external woundings inflicted on a clean individual by an infected animal, such as a potential mate carrying the disease, or by snake mites.
Therefore, prevention is the key. Because it is possible to house more than one sand boa in the same habitat, be sure that any new snakes that you acquire are free this disease.
Use monthly sanitization techniques before introducing a clean snake to any previously used enclosure. Never place a clean snake in an un-sanitized habitat, such as one acquired from a garage sale or given to you by a friend, which may be harboring mites.
Although tiny, these mites can be seen with the naked eye and when the snake is handled by an owner with wet hands, the mites will come off the snake and onto the hands, making detection fairly easy.
Good husbandry and sensible purchasing of new stock and equipment is the best way to prevent this disease by preventing infestation of the mites that carry it. Kenyans are beautiful creatures that will provide you with many years of companionship and amusement. Some may prefer smaller prey than what you think they may take. You should never feed in the cage, as ingested substrate can cause death. Sand boas, being mostly nocturnal, feed best at night. I feed in a cloth snake bag, which can be placed in the cage for warmth and safety.
To thaw a frozen mouse place it in a cup of hot tap water for minutes until it is thoroughly thawed and warm. My sand boas don't seem to care if their mice are wet, but you can thaw them in a sealed plastic bag, or skip the water altogether and wrap them in a heating pad. Microwaving is hard to control, and an exploded mouse isn't much fun to clean up. Place the warm mouse in the snake bag, wash your hands so you don't smell like a mouse, add the sand boa, and leave it undisturbed inside the snake's cage for a couple of hours.
For picky eaters I put a folded towel on top or bury the bag in the substrate, only leaving a couple of square inches exposed for air exchange. They seem to like the weight on top of them. If the mouse is still there when you check you can leave it overnight. Instead of using a snake bag you can place the mouse and snake in a deli cup, but sand boas seem to feel more secure with the feeling of the bag over them and usually eat more readily. If you use a deli cup you might want to put in a piece of damp paper towel that they can hide under.
The pinkies and fuzzies that young sand boas eat are not old enough to damage your snake and so can be fed live without harm to the snake, but that is a matter of personal ethics and economics - frozen is generally cheaper. Older mice can kill a snake if they get lucky and your snake unlucky. There are very few sand boas that will only eat live prey. Sometimes a neonate will insist on live for the first few feedings, but if given one live and one pre-killed when they are hungry they will usually switch fairly easily.
Babies should be fed every days, and adults every week to every month, depending on the snake and the size of the meals. It is hard to get babies actually fat, but there is a belief that feeding baby snakes a lot so they grow fast will shorten their life spans.
On the other hand, a hungry snake may be grouchy and if kept underfed they will always be stunted. Watch your snake, and adjust the amount and frequency of food as necessary.
Adult females are prone to obesity if overfed. If this happens cut back a bit - obesity shortens lives for snakes as well as humans. If your sand boa consistently refuses food it may be stressed from too much handling. Try leaving it alone more to see if that will bring back its appetite.
You should not handle your snake unnecessarily for 24 hours after eating, as it may regurgitate. If it does regurgitate, wait a few days before feeding again, so that the irritation to the esophagus has a chance to heal.
You will know this by the dulling of the color, and your snake may be more jumpy. If they seem jumpy they should be handled as little as possible until they have completed their shed, and if fed should only be offered small meals.
This prevents a large meal from stretching out the delicate new skin and causing injury. Many snakes will not eat until the shed is complete. The shed process usually lasts between one and two weeks. The skin will look dull for a few days to a week, then it will look almost normal, but a close look at the belly shows that it looks slightly yellowish instead of white. A few days after this the snake will shed, frequently in the evening.
If the snake does not shed completely you can place it in a damp cloth snake bag placed inside its cage for a few hours. This usually does the trick. If there are a few stubborn spots you can apply a little contact lens wetting solution, let it soak, then gently peel the skin off. You should check the shed skin if possible to see that the eyecaps have shed.
If they are retained for more than a couple of sheds they can damage the eye. If your snake retains an eyecap you should first try the damp snake bag. If that doesn't work you can take a piece of scotch tape or masking tape not something as sticky as duct tape and reduce the stickiness a bit by sticking it to your finger a couple of times, then gently placing it over the eyecap and lifting, using a rolling motion.
If this doesn't work either wait until the next shed to see if it comes off then, or consult a herp vet. If the eyecap is only retained for one shed it is very unlikely to cause problems, but people have blinded their snakes by trying to use forceps to remove retained eyecaps.
If you provide a humidity box there is every likelihood that your snake will never have a bad shed. Sand boas produce their uric acid in a solid form as a small white lump of urates. Their feces are also dry and not terribly odorous, unless left in the humidity box for some time. The humidity box should have fairly frequent cleanings, every week to two weeks if not soiled. Of course if it is soiled or the moss molds it should be cleaned immediately! The rest of the cage is easier. I just throw away the lumps I find in the substrate as I search for my snake, and replace the substrate and clean the cage about times a year.
If you use aspen or other substrate it may need to be replaced more frequently. All of these must sit on the surface for 10 minutes to be effective.
Make sure to follow directions and rinse thoroughly. Pinesol has ingredients that are toxic to reptiles, so avoid it and similar products. Your sand boa, just by being a reptile, may be harboring a strain of Salmonella. A few simple precautions in handling your pet will make sure this never causes any problems.
While you may not always see them exploring, attentive keepers have noted that this can be an active species that displays fossorial behavior. As such, Kenyan Sand Boas enjoy having space to burrow and tunnel within the substrate. You may want to consider giving huge females more space, while some smaller males could make do with slightly less space.
They may become stressed in large enclosures that have too much open space. The glass or acrylic aquarium is the common choice for small pet snakes, including Kenyan Sand Boas. Be sure to use clips to secure the screen lid to the top of the enclosure to prevent escapes. A reptile heating pad, heat lamp, or heat tape are viable options for heating an aquarium habitat. Front-opening terrariums tend to be a tad more expensive and harder to find than aquariums, but they may be worth it.
This can increase stress, nervousness, and defensive behaviors in any snake, including Kenyan Sand Boas. Front opening terrariums allow you to reach in from the front. Front-opening enclosures also offer much more freedom and space in terms of maneuvering decorations and cleaning hard to reach places. A reptile heating pad, heat lamp, or heat tape are viable options for heating a glass or acrylic terrarium.
Depending on how many snakes you own, you may opt for a rack or shelf of tubs or a standalone tub. In addition to being incredibly affordable , most tubs offer your snake more of a visual barrier to the outside world and, in turn, a sense of security.
Kenyan Sand Boas do perfectly fine in shallow tubs, like the styles used in racks, since they mostly prefer to burrow. A standalone tub may be heated with heat tape, a reptile heating pad, or the lid can be modified with a screen to accommodate a heat lamp. PVC and wood enclosures offer the benefits of a front-opening enclosure and solid sides that will help your snake feel less exposed. There are many online, commercial manufacturers of wood and PVC snake cages, or you could try building your own if you are handy.
Wood enclosures are much heavier than PVC enclosures. Like most reptiles, Kenyan Sand Boas use the temperature of their environment to regulate their internal body temperature. This is called thermoregulation , and cold-blooded animals that need to thermoregulate are called ectothermic. To achieve the temperature gradient specified above, use one or two heating elements on one side of the enclosure, and allow the other side to drop to room temperature.
Even though these animals are known for living in arid semi-desert environments, they inhabit soil and leaf litter, which is usually quite moist. Because of this discrepancy, stuck sheds and dehydration are the most common problems Kenyan Sand Boa owners face.
Here are a few things you can do to keep the humidity down:. Aspen shavings are also affordable and readily available.
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