Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all (didn't see this sub-forum til just now),

Pretty inexperienced colubrid keeper here...have a very nice standard Corn and a very nippy/feisty young Cal King. Both are my 8 year old son's. My 6 yr old daughter, who handles the Corn just fine, now wants a snake.

I have told her that her choices are Corn or Sand Boa (which she really loves). I think she wants an Anery.

A couple questions for the expert:

1) Is it true that a Kenyan Sand Boa is a good beginner snake (essentially, I will be caring for it, always supervising)?

2) What should I expect to pay for a young Anery sand boa that is well started on thawed pinkies?

3) Should I be focused on the local reptile show (Taylor, MI) or do you think purchasing one to be overnighted is okay?

4) Any additional words of wisdom would be very much appreciated!

Thank you,

Greg L.
SE MI/NW Ohio

1) Is it true that a Kenyan Sand Boa is a good beginner snake (essentially, I will be caring for it, always supervising)?

I would say yes. Kenyan sand boas are great snakes, but often spend the majority of their time hidden beneath the cage substrate. Some people think this makes them a 'boring' pet, but I disagree.

2) What should I expect to pay for a young Anery sand boa that is well started on thawed pinkies?

~$50-85 (make sure you specify you need a snake feeding on F/T)

3) Should I be focused on the local reptile show (Taylor, MI) or do you think purchasing one to be overnighted is okay?

Kenyan sand boas are pretty common and should turn up at your local reptile shows. I would try that first to avoid paying an additional $50-75 for overnight shipping. If all else fails, shipping is safe when done properly.

4) Any additional words of wisdom would be very much appreciated!

Males stay a LOT smaller than females. Adult males are usually ~15-20", while adult females are usually ~28-34". Males often go off feed for 1-3 months when sexually mature, so don't be surprised.

Best of luck,
Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
Contact
Captive Bred Herps
Wildlife Research & Consulting Services, LLC

I agree with Chris. We've been doing reptile shows with 90% Kenyans on our table for about a year now, mostly in the South.

Two things to watch out for at the show, 1) it seems like 'every' snake will eat Frozen Thawed if you ask 2) the size of the snake is a good indicator of size, if they look real small then they were just born or not eating, in either case, error on the side of the larger babies.

We keep track of every snakes eating habits and actually mark each individual snake with what type of pinky it is eating, live or frozen.

If I was buying on line, and absolutely had to have a frozen eating anery, I'd buy from a small breeder over a commercial breeder, only because the small breeder should be able to tell you without a doubt if it is eating on frozen or live. Commercial breeders tend to have TOO many snakes to feed frozen pinkies which aren't eaten as readily as live pinkies.

In my humble opinion
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Mark Huntley
Sand Boa Morphs

Sand Boa's
2.1 Rufescens
6.6 Albinos
0.1 Hypo Albino
1.1 Dodoma
2.0 Nuclear Meltdown
0.1 Flame
10.22.14 Normal (orange)
7.16 Anery
5.4 Snow
2.2 Yellow Snow
0.1 Splash Albino
1.0 Splash Anery
1.0 Orange Stripe Het Anery
3.0 High Orange Stripe
1.0 Yellow Stripe
1.3 High Orange Tiger
2.3 High Orange
1.0 Snow Paradoxes
0.1 Albino Paradoxes
1.1 Javelin Sand Boas
2.1 Rough Scales
1.1 Indian Sunsets F3

Western Hognose
15.6 Normal Hogs
6.2 Green Phase
1.2 Red Phase

2.1 Boston Terriers
0.2 Sooners
1.3 Rhode Island Reds
0.3 Barred Rocks
0.2 Range Hens
0.1 Favorite Wives
1.1 On the fence in-laws
2.1 Rug Rats

CHECK OUT MY NEW KENYAN SAND BOA BLOG
http://sandboamorphs.blogspot.com/

WWW.SANDBOAMORPHS.COM