This Kenyan Sand Boa care sheet should be used for guidance only. If you have decided to keep a pet snake please gather as much information as possible from other reliable sources about the species you intend to keep.
Kenyan Sand Boa
Gongylophis colubrinus loveridgei
DESCRIPTION
The Kenyan Sand Boa is a well built, heavy bodied, burrowing constrictor from East Africa.
The Kenyan Sand Boa can be nervous as a juvenile but calms down quickly with handling and usually grows in to a placid and easy to manage pet snake.
Kenyan Sand Boas are small compared to most other Boas, reaching on average just 2 feet in length. Males tend to be smaller and slimmer than females.
These nocturnal snakes can live 15 to 25 years in captivity with the proper care.
HOUSING
An enclosure measuring 24”x12”x12” is suitable for housing a single adult Kenyan Sand Boa. The enclosure can be a wooden vivarium with sliding glass doors or an aquarium with a well ventilated secure lid. They are also successfully kept in large plastic storage boxes with plenty of ventilation holes drilled in the sides. Whatever type of enclosure you choose you must ensure it is secure and very well ventilated in order to keep humidity low for this arid land species. Humidity should be kept at 40 to 50% although it can help to raise this by 10% if your Sand Boa is due to shed its skin.
If you provide a substrate that your Boa can burrow in to such as sand or aspen bedding your Kenyan can do without hides. Substrate should be 2” deep to allow for burrowing.
A small but sturdy water bowl should be available in the coolest part of your Kenyan Sand Boas enclosure, buried in the substrate so that it can't be tipped over.
HEATING, LIGHTING AND TEMPERATURE
Kenyan Sand Boas are best kept at daytime temperatures varying from 32 to 34 degrees centigrade at one end of the enclosure and 25 to 27 degrees centigrade at the other. Temperature can be allowed to drop a 3 or 4 degrees at night.
A thermal gradient for this snake can be achieved by placing a heat mat under only half of the enclosure, leaving the other half cool. Heat mats should be controlled by a thermostat to maintain correct temperatures for your snake. Always follow the instructions that come with your heating equipment as these can vary between manufacturer.
Lighting is not strictly necessary for the Kenyan Sand Boa and is a matter of personal choice.
If you find that extra heat is needed a low wattage bulb fitted to the ceiling of the enclosure can be used to increase the ambient temperature. Bulbs used for lighting and/or heating your Boas vivarium that are over 15 watts must be covered with a bulb guard to protect your Kenyan Sand Boa from burns.
Any lighting should be turned off at night. An inexpensive timer can be used to do the job for you. These can be purchased from most hardware stores.
FEEDING
Kenyan Sand Boas can be fed on an appropriately sized mouse or rat once every week. The food offered should be roughly the thickness of the snake at the centre of its length.
Frozen mice and rats can be bought in many different sizes from pet stores that deal in reptiles and can be thawed out at feeding time.
Adult females can consume adult mice although many Sand Boas have a preference for food of a slightly smaller and more manageable size.
These
snakes are great fun to feed with tongs and will burst out from beneath
the substrate with a shockingly fast and powerful strike.
It should be noted that it is not unusual for these reptiles to stop eating for several weeks, sometimes months at a time. This is not usually cause for concern, providing your Kenyan Sand Boa is healthy and maintains a good weight. My own Sand Boa has stopped feeding for 4 months before and lost just 10 grams in weight. These snakes are remarkably tough and resilient.
HANDLING
GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Your Kenyan Sand Boa enclosure should be spot checked for faeces on a daily basis and cleaned out completely with a reptile-safe disinfectant at least monthly. All cage furniture should also be disinfected and the substrate should be changed.
Your snake should be given fresh water at least twice weekly.
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