Welcome to the site!
Unfortunately I don't know much about sand boas. Hopefully somebody who is will come along and help you out.
I will offer this advice on substrate though. Look into sani chips.
UTH's should be mounted to bottom of the cage, Heat travels vertically not side to side. Also if you use a UTH make sure that it is regulated with a good thermostat. Thermostats are not optional. Without them a UTH can and will hit 130+ degrees. Stay away from thermostats sold in pet stores, this link goes over cage heating, and has a list of good thermostats with their + & -
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers
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