baby kenyan sand boa's eating

[bighillreptiles]

well her is my baby sand boa's eating thay are doing realy well
male on the left female on the right
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v478/bighillreptiles/pairofkenyansandboaseating.jpg
hope every one likes

[SnakeFetish]

Just a question, since u feed them in the enclosure. Wouldn't the sand compact them?

[bighillreptiles]

no it is calse sand from zoomed it is calcium so it will only help them with calcium

[BabyFirefly]

actually calcisand is not as safe as it is supposed to be. i know of many ppl who's bearded dragons, and geckos that ate calcisand and became severely compacted.
http://www.pythons.com/calcium.html check that out.

you can also search "calci sand impaction" on google and you will get lots of info there.

[bighillreptiles]

thanks for the heads up on that i will start to feed out side of the enclsure

[Bartman]

Ive got a question about that whole impaction, especially with this species. Now leopard geckos live on a more rocky terrain so keeping them on sand is wrong of course, that makes sense.

But now wouldnt a 'sand' boa be okay eating on sand. Do they live on sand in the wild and if so, how do wild species survive while feeding? Ive always wondered that.

[Matt_K]

Hey Paul, Instead of feeding them out of the enclosure, you should look into BetaChip.. The stuff is amazing and you can continue to feed them IN the enclosure.. It's pretty cheap too and available at feed supply stores...

[mudflats]

Bartman, actually there name is incorrect pretty much. Sure it implies sand , but sand retains heat to dangerous levals in captivity. Also sandboas in the wild usually inhabit burrows by other animals. So there name "Sand" boa may mean there around sand, but actually to get prey items they eat in burrows where loose sand is compacted and/or not even sand at all.

[Linds]

Really vibrant yellows on them! Nice! :sun:

[bighillreptiles]

Thanks to all that have replyed i have changed there substrate to aspen and will see how it workes for them . Paul Big Hill Reptiles

[Stockwell]

They can get impacted with Aspen that frequently has long chards that stick to food.. BETA CHIP is safe. They eat some, but its small enough to pass. I have produced many hundeds of sandboas on it and have over 18 years experience with it.
I raise sand boas from Neonate to birthing mothers on the stuff... They can ingest it without problems, plus its easy to spot clean without changing all of it.
I've used sand, many years ago and found it causes spectacle abraisions, leaving the eyes always looking rough and dusty.
Beta Chip is cheap..10 bucks for a huge bag. My snakes eat on it, breed on it and give birth in it. pics below
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1801Betachip-med.jpg
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/18011590Kenyanfeeding.jpg
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/508/1801Dscn0975-med.jpg
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1801kenyanF3_oct7_02_birth-med.jpg

[bighillreptiles]

where are you getting the bata chips Roy I can't find them around here i will try the farm stores today and see what thay have .Is it good for the milks and kings as well ?? thanks Paul

[Linds]

You can get it at Ren's Feed in Oakville on Trafalgar road. If your local co-op doesn't carry it, they should be able to have it brought in from you for a few dollars extra ;)

Another alternative is Carefesh. I tried Beta Chip, but was displeased. The feeders seemed to act like a magnet, picking up a great deal of the small chips, as well as there were small sharp pieces in mine as well. I wasn't comfortable with my snakes ingesting it, so I went back to Carefresh again. It's super soft, doesn't stick to prey, holds burrows really well, and all that other good stuff :) Only downfall is the price is a little steep, but it lasts a long time.

[Matt_K]

Paul, you can also pick it up at PCPC...

-Matt