Posted by:
markg
at Wed Jan 27 13:15:45 2010 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by markg ]
It has only been 4 days, so there is no need to worry yet. Better to take advice on setting up the cage just right.
I'm not a breeder of these snakes, but I have kept a few here and there and with great success. I have found that they do well for me when kept (talking babies here) in a shoebox and a heat pad over about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bottom depending on how cool the room is. I kept the heater at around 90-100 range on mine (it varied a bit, no problem with these snakes.)
I found that mine either liked a substrate they could bury into, or newspaper they could crawl under and "feel" the weight of on their backs. However, I experimented with 1-inch diameter PVC pipe and they used that to hide in and feed in as well. These snakes like to be mostly concealed, whether in PVC pipe or paper or wood chips. And they do fine even if the cages are kept mostly dark and have very little ventilation.
It seems with these snakes, the simpler the setup, the better. They do not need alot of TLC or room in the cage. They are shy and may need a good 5 days to settle in when new however.
If you are doing the glass tank thing, I urge you to go plastic shoebox for these snakes as described above, especially for babies. Much easier, and the snake will feel more secure.
One last tip: Sometimes after shipping or living in a pet shop, even a sandboa can get dehydrated. A 5 minute soak in about 1/4 inch or less of clean water will get the snake well hydrated. Then, if you house it in a shoebox, it will be easy for the snake to maintain hydration. When hydrated, warm and secure, the snake will eat. And when hungry, they attack dead food with force. BTW, don't hold sandboas on their necks right behind the head, they seem sensitive there and may bite or jerk suddenly. ----- Mark
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