Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I thinking of getting a sand boa. It will be held by children at times. which of the sand boas do you feel is the least nippy? Thanks for your thoughts, Dan

The Saharan Sand Boa is by far the most docile of the all the sand boas I've dealt with. They also can be purchased very inexpensively already adult size (most likely wild caught, though).

This just might be me but I've always thought that the Anerythristic Kenyan Sand Boas (black and whites) tend to be more docile and laid back than say other morphs like the albinos or snows. I've held 1000's of baby Kenyans and rarely is it the anery's that nip. But that could just be our experience.

Good luck
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Mark Huntley
Sand Boa Morphs

Sand Boa's
3.2 Rufescens
6.7 Albinos
0.1 Hypo Albino
2.1 Dodoma
1.1 Nuclear
1.0 Nuclear Meltdown
2.6 Flame
10.22 Normals including hets
7.16 Anery
5.7 Snow
2.2 Yellow Snow
0.1 Splash Albino
1.0 Splash Anery
1.0 Orange Stripe Het Anery
1.0 High Orange Stripe
1.3 High Orange Tiger
4.5 High Orange
1.3 Snow Paradoxes
3.4 Albino Paradoxes
1.1 Javelin Sand Boas
1.2 Indian Sunsets F2-F3

Western Hognose
0.4 Regulars
1.2 Green Phase
2.2 Extreme Red het Albino

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

I would have to say in order from least to most nippy of the ones I have kept, they would go:

Saharans (E. muelleri)
Tatars (E. tataricus)
Desert (E. miliaris)
Spotted (E. jaculus)
Indian (E. johnii) - strong feeding response can result in accidents though!
Kenyan/East Africans (E. colubrinus)
Rough-scaleds (E. conicus)

However, almost all the Saharans available are wild caught and some of those snakes, even though docile, can be tricky to get feeding.

That said, I have been bitten by every species on this list (and Eryx jayakari as well).

If you get a captive baby of any of the species and work with it, they will be trustworthy adults, generally.
But if you want a sandboa that will never bite, get a Rubber Boa .
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Most of my sand boa experience is with E. conicus. However, out of the around 20 adult breeders and over 200 young I produced in the 80' and 90's, I would say about 90% were completely trustworthy. Most were still head shy though, but they would not bite.

Kelly

This helps greatly, thanks again.. Dan

Most of my experience is with the following:

Kenyans: 50/50. If you handle them from birth, they are really docile. If you wait a couple of months, then they are skittish.
RoughScales: More skittish than kenyans.
Indians: Only have 3 of these. Bite me every time I try to feed them. Not aggressive at all...just one heck of a feeding response. Let go as soon as they know I'm not a rat.
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Travis Rose
1.3 Rough Scale Sand Boas
1.2 Indian sand boas
13.33 Kenyan Sand Boas
X.X Nervous Rats
X.X Paranoid Mice
0.2 Dogs
0.2 Cats
X.X Fish
0.1 Very understanding wife
2.0 Future Snake Lovers

When you smell like a rat what do you expect!!!! LOL!!!

My Indians have great feeding responses too.
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Mark Huntley
Sand Boa Morphs

Sand Boa's
3.2 Rufescens
6.7 Albinos
0.1 Hypo Albino
2.1 Dodoma
1.1 Nuclear
1.0 Nuclear Meltdown
2.6 Flame
10.22 Normals including hets
7.16 Anery
5.7 Snow
2.2 Yellow Snow
0.1 Splash Albino
1.0 Splash Anery
1.0 Orange Stripe Het Anery
1.0 High Orange Stripe
1.3 High Orange Tiger
4.5 High Orange
1.3 Snow Paradoxes
3.4 Albino Paradoxes
1.1 Javelin Sand Boas
1.2 Indian Sunsets F2-F3

Western Hognose
0.4 Regulars
1.2 Green Phase
2.2 Extreme Red het Albino

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

>>When you smell like a rat what do you expect!!!! LOL!!!
>>
>>My Indians have great feeding responses too.
>>-----

I wish my big female would only lunge when there was rodent smell around! If I walk in the animal room, she starts crawling around the cage with her mouth open lunging at anything that moves!
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

E. johnii have a surprisingly painful bite!

Captive bred rubber boas make great captives and almost NEVER bite!

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

You have been bit by a rubber boa. Did you step on it?

Same experience with johnii. They do not always let go. I get tired of picking bark out of their mouths too. Once out of the cage they are puppies. My devil snakes are Harq rosies. They bite and keep biting even after handled.

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Rick Staub

I'm with Rick,
all of my rosies,except one LTC, will not hesitate to bite(and hold on for the ride too) even after they've been handled a lot!
This is not the rosy's falt though. 90% of the time I open a rosy box I am feeding and they know it!
I sent four of these evil biters(4year old animals) home with my dad a few years ago and you can open a box at his house and handle these same animals without worry. He changed their feeding responce by changing the way he fed them. Now they are great animals to handle.
Even my worst biter kenyans will not bite once the animal is out and in hand. I do not recomend digging through the aspen/bedding with you hand to find them. I use a hook if I can't find their head first. Always approach from behind and you'll be fine unless they are ambush mode and the tail end is near the head, then use the hook.
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Steve Perry
North Idaho.