Sand Boa Questions

[EJ45]

Sunday I picked up a female '08 Het Albino KSB at the Reptile show in San Antonio. She is in a "temporary" enclosure for now while I get the best set up situated. I think I have read just about every care sheet online and have the jist of husbandry.

For anyone that has kept them, do you have any preferences of Aspen over ground walnut? (Im leaning towards the aspen)

Do they usually go off feed as commonly as I read, for long periods of time?

Thanks .. any helpful info will be appreciated!

[SRX]

The ground walnut can and will stick to feeders. Digestively, it's similar to you swallowing a pine cone. Go with the aspen or Sani-chips.

[blackcrystal22]

My sand boa will not eat feeders unless in a separate deli-cup. He will burrow and not even look at them.
I like the walnut, because it has much more burrowing capability. Since my boa will only eat every 2 months or so (Even though I try every week) he doesn't digest the walnut because he's in a separate deli cup.
Also, the walnut will only stick to feeders if wet.

Also, walnut is like sand, but without the dust and messy clean-ups.

[SRX]

Unfortunately, the walnut is not like sand (true sand, not silicate/crushed stone). It is more jagged and coarse. I will admit that it is one of the best looking substrates to use with a sand boa, but given the cons, it's just safer to use aspen. And the feeder doesn't have to be wet. If you have ever watched a short snouted sand boa feed, they twist and roll and get things stuck to the sides of their mouth. But wet feeders are the bigger culprit.

Forgot to add that crushed walnut shells were not originally intended for bedding, but rather for it's coarse grit nature as a sandblasting media.

http://www.kramerindustriesonline.co...nut-shells.htm

[EJ45]

Thanks for the replies! I went with the aspen. I fed her for the first time Friday. I put her in a seperate container and all she would do was "rub her face" on the pinkie. I have a flat piece of cork bark in her tank so I placed the mouse on it and put her next to it. Within 5 min she had eaten it down. So far so good. She seems to be fairly active at times, poking around the tank.