I'm thinking of taking the plunge into....SNAKES!

[snakeguy101]

you could put sand in the tank no problem and it is cheaper too if you get the play sand from a hardware store. You can also use cypress mulch, NEVER use pine or cedar with any kind of reptile. when feeding, it is generally best to fed them outside of their enclosure but it is ultimately up to you. I just feed inside the cage.

As far as picking up a snake, there is no "right way" to do it. It is just up to you to understand your snakes behavior and act accordingly.

 

[Sylvias]

Theres nothing wrong with sand if you keep your temps where they should, the snakes will inevitable swallow a bit of it but as long as your set up is right they will pass it without any problems. I keep both my king snakes on sand, however for this reason i do feed them out of the cage.
Feeding out of cage is really all subject to opinion. I personally prefer to feed most of mine in the cage but I also handle them regularly so they do not think that every time the door opens they are getting food and instantly go into feed mode. Aside from the king snakes of course who are fed out of the cage (also being handled regularly so they do not associate all interaction with food)
If you are unsure of just reaching in and taking the snake out of the cage then use a larger substrate like aspen so that it can eat int he cage without risk of swallowing to much..although it still probably will at some point... Or you can invest in a small snake hook and just hook it around the mid body to pull it from the cage, most docile snakes will not strike if they realize you are there and not feeding them immediately...

 

[chloe]

i feed all of mine in, but my substrate is newspaper and kitchen towel.
x

 

[packer43064]

Thanks again! Will just feed in tank then, sounds easier.

Would it be better if the sand is bone dry or moist. Right now the play sand I have is kinda moist....perfect for the hermit crab tank I just made but not sure on a sand boa. If it would be better dry how would I go about doing this? Putting it in a bucket in direct sunlight on the patio....use the oven?

Do snakes need supplements like other reptiles?

I work at Petsmart.I get 15% off so might as well use it. People are saying that a 20 long is plenty of space....seem right? I've also heard that snakes need smaller tanks so they feel secure and not threatened. Would a 20 long be too big for a small sand boa that Petsmarts carry? Should I start with a 10? Their usually 6-8 inches if I had to guess.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

If you are going with a Sand Boa, you should keep the humidity at almost zero.

And I much prefer aspen, because it holds almost no moisture whatsoever, and Sand Boas are famous for tipping their water dish, and aspen is much easier to change if that happens. Another reason I prefer aspen is that, for example, my Kenyan, on her first feeding, refused to eat any other method than having the F/T mouse left in her tank at night. I'd be worried about her injesting substrate if she was dragging the mouse around in sand. (She now tong feeds in a bucket of shallow aspen)

I have a Kenyan Sand Boa, and she's an absolutely awesome snake. No aggression or feeding problems. The only problem is, they are tough to handle. If you flip a Sand Boa over, unlike most snakes, who have ventral scales across their entire underside, their ventral scales are very skinny, and they don't have muscles that allow them to curl up around things, so you really have to keep your eyes on them at all times while handling, and make sure that you are supporting their entire body, or they may fall or start squirming.

 

[packer43064]

Thanks!
Do I have to go with aspen though. I truly hate aspen or cedar or anything wood like. Just looks and feels wierd. I hear carefresh is okay for them. I'd rather use that if I couldn't use sand.

I get the whole impaction thing but does this truly happen that much? I'd rather use bone dry sand(to keep humidity low) then carefresh bedding if not sand then I guess aspen if I had to. I could always use sand for the tank then feed on something else like aspen right?

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Unless the snake needs to eat in the tank. My KSB only took her first feeding when I left the pinky around overnight. Carefresh should be fine, as long as it's light and airy enough for the Sand Boa to burrow and also breathe while burrowed.

 

[packer43064]

Unless the snake needs to eat in the tank. My KSB only took her first feeding when I left the pinky around overnight. Carefresh should be fine, as long as it's light and airy enough for the Sand Boa to burrow and also breathe while burrowed.

Kool. I'll try the carfresh. I use it for the rabbit so I always have some around. It might be too airy or light though and the snake won't be able to burrow perfectly. We'll see. Trial and error.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Keep us posted. So do you know what species you're getting?

 

[packer43064]

9/10 it will be a Kenyan. Will get it at Petsmart or a reptile show. After I have my first snake I will decide if I want to further this area of reptiles and get different kinds or just keep the one sand boa. lol