Sand boa from mainland china

All these sand boas are wild caught.I went out for several days but sadly came back and find this little fellow died



Hes too small so I fed him one small rat foot(from 15g rat)at a time
I never saw his tongue. I need to open his mouth and put the rat into.Hes as big as a little worm :pleading_face:.I just feel sad of his death.Hes poop was a little green but I think its fine.Hope next time I can keep this cute little sand boas for long years

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Thats a real bummer. Sorry you had an animal pass.

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So sad for your sand boa death @liuky! :pensive::pray:

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Oh I’m so sorry :cry:

I know someone who’s got house snakes (very small snakes).
AFT pinkies would be best size for that size snake. A foot isn’t enough at all, or force feeding it.

Also with wild caught animals there’s always a risk, you don’t know if they’ve got anything at all. Defo find a breeder next time.

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The price is so low,no one produce this kind of sand boa.also to Kenya sand boa.i only know two guys produce kenya

Also would be worth adding that sand boas do need thick substrate to bury in, A rack isn’t at all ideal for them at all, they need a proper enclosure like their natural habitat to thrive. (All snakes do really). But some snakes like Royals do ok in one.

Maybe worth you looking at other species that you’ve an house in a rack with no issues?

Defo not worth getting another.

I would argue that sand boas can absolutely thrive in a rack setup. While I haven’t kept this species of sand boa, I’ve kept other sand boa species that do wonderfully in racks. The setup pictured I agree is not ideal though. The lack of substrate to burrow and the air holes being so low to the bottom to not allow filling with substrate are some issues that could be corrected.

My anecdotal experience with housing my sand boas in racks is that they seem much calmer when getting them out to handle and that they also eat more regularly than compared to being housed in a clear sided tub/tank. Though I do give them a thicker layer of substrate and various items hide under and rub against. Tubs, tanks, pvc enclosures, and racks can all house most common sand boa species successfully though.

@liuky if you were to attempt to keep sand boas moving forward, I would ensure you’ve got a proper enclosure beforehand (thick substrate, appropriate heating etc.). And as @ghoulishcresties noted, access to small enough feeders (not just a foot of a larger feeder), and purchase captive bred if at all possible.

Sorry about your loss with this one.

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Just a warning, these animals are protected in China. That means they’re illegal to collect like this. While it is sad to lose any animal, it’s irresponsible to take them from the wild without knowing how to properly care for them.

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