Sand Boa Questions

Hello all, when I get off of work today I will be going to a local privatly owned pet shop to purchase a 3-4 in Sand Boa (Orange and Black). I alreay have a tank at home with about 2 inches of calcium sand, a UV Light and a 75 watt heat bulb. On with the questions!

1) Will my snake ever gain any purple coloring or change color at all during its up bringing?

2) I read that the temperature on the warm side should be 90 and the cool side 80 like a bp (but it is ok for it to drop at night to like 72). But what are the humidity requirments... are there any? I mean it lives in sand... I can't mist it or it will clump up right?

3) The average adult length it about 3 1/2 ft. right?

Thanks,

Congrats on getting a new comer! They are great little snakes!!!

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Originally Posted by Kilo

I alreay have a tank at home with about 2 inches of calcium sand, a UV Light and a 75 watt heat bulb.

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They do not need a UV light. Nor do they need cal sand. Aspen or a natural potting soil will work.

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Originally Posted by Kilo

1) Will my snake ever gain any purple coloring or change color at all during its up bringing?

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-No, only when in shed - he/she will dull out in color.

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Originally Posted by Kilo

2) I read that the temperature on the warm side should be 90 and the cool side 80 like a bp (but it is ok for it to drop at night to like 72). But what are the humidity requirments... are there any? I mean it lives in sand... I can't mist it or it will clump up right?

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http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/s...n-sand-boa.php

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Originally Posted by Kilo

3) The average adult length it about 3 1/2 ft. right?

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Males = 15 inches Females = 26' - 32'



I'd write more, but I'm working and a bit busy.
Any more questions please do ask!
PS... POST PICTURES!

You'll love your KSB. Mine is a sweety and she's always a joy to handle.

Thank you Allison for you help and information. Question: it is still ok to keep them in sand right?

Vomitore I went up there on my lunch break to check it out and completely fell in love with it! So gentle and docile. Although there was another KSB there that tried to take my hand off!

I'm still confused on the humidity thing. It appears that it is something that I shouldn't even worry about unless he/she is having trouble shedding.

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Originally Posted by Kilo

Thank you Allison for you help and information. Question: it is still ok to keep them in sand right?

Vomitore I went up there on my lunch break to check it out and completely fell in love with it! So gentle and docile. Although there was another KSB there that tried to take my hand off!

I'm still confused on the humidity thing. It appears that it is something that I shouldn't even worry about unless he/she is having trouble shedding.

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Keep humidity at 50% and 70% for shedding. Yeah KSB's can either be nice as can be, or very nippy. Mine has never even tried to strike me.

even though they are called "sand boas" they don't necesarily live in just plain sand. Their environment is more so like soft dirt I believe. I suppose it would be ok to keep them in sand but I would definitely not feed in the tank due to the risk of the snake swallowing some of the sand and suffering from impaction. Aspen bedding should work fine for a sand boa. If you go with the sand mix it with some non chemically altered soil and add in a little bit of water so that the burrows he/she will make stay intact. Hope that helped a little.

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Originally Posted by snakedude56

even though they are called "sand boas" they don't necesarily live in just plain sand. Their environment is more so like soft dirt I believe. I suppose it would be ok to keep them in sand but I would definitely not feed in the tank due to the risk of the snake swallowing some of the sand and suffering from impaction. Aspen bedding should work fine for a sand boa. If you go with the sand mix it with some non chemically altered soil and add in a little bit of water so that the burrows he/she will make stay intact. Hope that helped a little.

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I just use coconut substrate. I spot clean it even though it's sorta hard but change it every 2 weeks.

i used aspen when i had mine :)

i use carefree...what's also neat is that the carefree keeps the burrows the snake made

Carefresh?You want it dry for KSBs, 50% humidity is a bit much.

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Originally Posted by J32A2

Carefresh?You want it dry for KSBs, 50% humidity is a bit much.

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Only when they are shedding. ;)
CAREFRESH

Here's a pic of my female 8-month old KSB.

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/2234/hpim0244cc0.jpg

Calcium sand is nasty stuff for snakes to live in.. sand boas do not live in sand. I use aspen for mine.. and they do need humidity! 50-60% is very good for them.

You said you have a 'tank'.. how big is it? A baby sand boa is going to be quite shy and a small cage (like a shoebox) is going to be much better for it than a tank.

Do not let the temperatures go below 80 degrees.. no night drops. If you must use a heat lamp instead of an under tank heater + thermostat, get one of the red bulbs or a ceramic heat emitter instead of a white light bulb so it's not bright at night.

Adult males max at around 2'.. females 3'.