I walked in to get mice....but what on earth did i walk out with..ugg

:uhoh:Ok everyone knowns i been wanting a new snake to add to my little pet shop of a room. but i was going to hold off i was really trying hard.. So just looking around. i look at the corn snakes i saw nothing i liked...so i look over in the Boa tanks (i didn't know i was) well.....i asked the lady there i know. "how is the temperament on the things over there?" she looked and said "oh there like big worms" i smiled"really ahh big worms?" she said "Yup pretty boring" i said "cool i wanna see it" :spinner: sitting there with this so called boring worm in my hand. and this boring worm has a brake down in my hand! this thing come flying out of no where biting the crap out of me. then just like that it stops :eek1: and i turn around i said "What kind of worms do you rise?!?!?!" then he had its little panic dance in my hand again...so what do i walk out with....2 packs of mice and a...



kenyan sand boa

she said it looked like a female.









ps...my mom and dad have no clue..

Very nice! I've always wanted one of those bitey worms!

well now i can mark off on my snake list "bitey worm" never even knew i wanted one. lol

How cool, congrats! I had heard they bite (they are ambush predators and lie in wait under substrate) but so far my 2 KSB have been good and no bites

thanks, is there anything i should know about this kinda snake?

They like to burrow...ALOT. Get a substrate that has the ability to hold it's shape somewhat, like shredded coconut fiber or aspen, and instead of putting hides and such(cause they won't use them), put a piece of glass or plexiglass over 2/3 of the tank. As they make their burrows and such, the weight of the glass gives them security, but you can watch them, and observe the series of tunnels and dens they dig. Really cool animals...

yeah the stuff i got in there now it can tunnel and stuff. been doing it since i put her down. kinda cool looking. and heres something that really got me. my mother found out (hates my snakes) but when she was this one she even wanted to pet it. lol couldn't though at lest not yet. cant let it bite my mom lol

Her head looks like a tiny shark! Cute!

All hail the land shark!

KSBs are pretty easy, though you'll notice a few differences from corns...

1) they're burrowers (hence the shovel head), so lots of substrate is good, and flat things they can crawl under and feel pressed against. No sand! The usual corn bedding should be fine
2) I understand that their jaws aren't quite as flexible as corns, so, depending on how much you push your corns, slightly smaller food items may be in order. (I can't say I've ever had a problem with this, though)
3) they're desert critters, and their poop is pretty dry. They should still have water at all times, and maybe a damp hide (especially when they're sheddy), but most of their environment needs to be dry. And they like slightly higher warm temps than corns... like, 90s, in the daytime at least (some sites say it's okay for the warm temps to drop to 70's and 80s at night)
4) they hurt more! XD I don't know if they have bigger teeth or what, but a baby KSB can draw blood like an adult corn! Thankfully my big ones haven't tagged me XD Handle lots and they'll probably calm down and won't bite.

... KSB lurv!

lol i know the killer worm tried to murder me at the reptile shop. Ok heres more photos yes i have GLOVES on. this is a killer worm we are talking about. am not risking it.

Congratulations!! you have just become the proud owner of what will appear to be an empty tank 95% of the time you look into it!! LOL, I have 1.2 group of Saharan Sand boas (looks like the kenyan but mine are egg layers) and I have a rough scale sand boa as well. I love em but they can be pain in the butts to get to eat. I have found that I have to get the rough scale really ticked off. Remember they are ambush predators so once you find the head, walk the prey over it. I have had zero luck feeding outside viv or on something in the bin other than letting them hide and then "walk" the mouse over them. The Saharans were wild caught and 2 will only eat live, while the one little female was taking f/t but now she is refusing again, so I may need to go live with her as well. The other two held out for 8 months till I tried live as a last resort (EVERYTHING ELSE, I mean EVERYTHING else failed). Good luck with them and from what I have seen of my sand boas, most strikes are bluffs. Most, not all, I have been tagged a few times and amazingly, the bite from that little mouth actually hurts more than a full strike from by 3 foot redtail boa. (boa only bite me once, my fault, just felt I had to add that, lol)

Good luck, you'll enjoy her!

Hmmm... I've had... 11? Captive-bred kenyan sand boas. (Down to 3 now) Kept getting offers on buying 5 and then selling some off, etc etc 10 of them ate great for me -- there was this one male that would ONLY eat when left alone in a brown paper bag! And then sporadically. XP
Unlike my corns (which I just put in the bin with the food), I do usually tease-feed the KSB with tongs, or hold the snake so their nose is up against the mouse nose... KSB just seem to be kind of dumb about grabbing the mouse in the middle and taking forever to work their way around
In a few years, you'll have one of these!

Very nice.

Many times I've walked into the herp shop only to be dragged away from a KSB by my roommates, who insist "NOTHING BITEY!" :grin01:

Is it holding up to the chompy reputation?

lol thank you everyone for the help. i think they look pretty cool as adults..boy am sure glad i just had to get the snake with the most teeth...

Cool snake! I quite like sand boas... But dont think i'd ever get one! Or be allowed to by order of SWMBO...

lol i keep thinking. i could have gotten another bearded dragon. but no i just had to get the killer worm...

Heh me better* half would kill me for bringing home a KSB. She thinks Chompys too much of a handfull.... She'd disown me if i brought something with a reputation for being bitey into the house.





*Matter of opinion. Mostly her opinion.

lol i cant believe the lady told me "there just like worms really easy" more like really easy to get me to buy a snake. lol

My really bitey snake was cured by feeding him more often. Maybe your little guy's just hungry!

Congrats! Kenyans are great.

I hear that they can be "bitey" but ... My Kenyans have never bitten. They are rather sweet.