These are small snakes, usually under 2 feet in length, therefore requiring smaller housing. A ten gallon aquarium (with a tight fitting lid) is a sufficient size to house a pair. Some people prefer plastic shoe/sweater boxes, as they are easier to handle & clean. Just as long as the lid fits well, either is fine. I will repeat the "well fitting lid" because if it isn't, your snake, Sand Boa or otherwise, will be gone and you will likely spend days searching him out. Good ventilation is also necessary.

Substrate is at your discretion. Some people won't use sand for fear of the snake ingesting some of it and possibly dying. The same can be said of wood shavings. Never use cedar shavings for any snake, as the oils in it can kill your pet.

Sand Boas, naturally, take to the sand, burrow, and disappear for days at a time. They are also nocturnal. If you choose to go with sand, more than 2 or 2-1/2 inches is not needed. More will make the tank extremely heavy, more difficult to clean. If you use the old standby, newspaper, be sure to provide you snakes with sturdy, secure hideboxes.

Temperatures should be kept at 82 degrees F, give or take a few degrees. A basking spot of 88-90 degrees should also be provided. The snake will go where he is most comfortable. Measure substrate temperature as well as air temperature. Most of us have been at the beach on perfectly nice days when the sand has burned our feet.....you see what I mean.

Feeding is usually easy with Sand Boas unless you happen to have a wild-caught one. My females are, and still insist on live prey, i.e. crawler mice (could be worse, they could want lizards). Hatchlings get pinkies. A deli cup is sugessted for hatchlings, as it puts the snake and food in much closer contact for the snake to find. All Sand Boas should be put in a 'feedbox' for their meals. Never leave the snake alone, especially not overnight, with a live rodent. The box should have no substrate, no waterdish, just snake and food (lid, of course). As I said, they are nocturnal, and may insist on feeding at night. Water should be available to them in their regular cage every three days or so, at least once a week.

Sand Boas will reach maturity at approx. 3 years of age. Size is morre important than age, however, and you shouldn't stuff your snakes full of food to get them to breeding size.

If you have a group of adults, it is fairly easy to sex them by sight. Females are larger, up to 26 inches and a minimum of 200 grams in weight at maturity compared to the males, seldom over 15 inches in length and maturing at around 70 grams in weight.

Liverbearers, they give birth about 4 months after breeding. Because they are so secretive, you may have to guess. temperature variation, too, can change the gestation period fron as little as 12 week to as much as 8 months. Gravid females spend a lot of time basking and may refuse or regurgitate food. They may also get snappy at you. Visual signs may not always be accurate because these snakes are already stocky in build.

If you believe a female to be gravid, place her in her own cage, newspaper substrate, hidebox, shallow water dish, for the birth. If she has babies in the sand, it's no reason to panic. Take the babies out, clean them off and put them in their own deli cup or shoebox. They will shed in 7-10 days, at which time you should offer them their first meal.