need Kenyan Sand Boa information

[BabyFirefly]

i am going to be buying a kenyan sand boa for my boyfriend, so i am trying to learn everything i can before i bring it home.
i would like to know what you guys prefer as substrate? is aspen really better than sand? i can imagine it is easier to keep clean. is aspen the best though?
do they need any kind of special lighting or vitamins? will one heat lamp on the side of my tank be enough? do any of you use under the tank heaters? are they dangerous like heat rocks?
the baby i've got picked out at work is eating live pinkies in a deli cup right now. when he/she gets big enough to be fed bigger mice should they always be knocked out first? is it safe to feed on aspen or should i get a bigger seperate container to feed it in.
any advice or tips you guys that own sand boa's will be helpfull. i have had just about any small pet imaginable, but this will be the first snake. i just want to make sure i do this right.
my last question is do you think i will run into any problems putting a small sand boa.. he's under ten inches but more than five.. in a 20 gallon long tank?

thanks in advance.

[CARLiTO_]

Read this care sheet... (http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/Snakes/kenyan-sand-boa.html)

Has most of the answers that you are looking for.

[Tigergenesis]

A lot of people seem to use aspen - you can feed on it as many have for years, but some advise against it. They don't need any light - they're nocturnal and will remain hidden in the substrate most of the time anyway. No they don't need vitamins/supplements - snakes get all they need from the rodents you feed them. Go with an under the tank heater - again, they stay buried under the substrate. Attach the UTH on the outside bottom of the tank, lift the tank a bit to allow for airflow underneath and set it on a thermostat. Always best to feed frozen/thawed (kills parasites) or at least prekilled - a live mouse can put up a fight (pinkies are harmless). That tank size is plenty big enough.

What a nice gift - is he expecting it?

[BabyFirefly]

thanks so much for replying. he is expecting it because i wanted to make sure he was willing to make the commitment before i got it for him. he wanted a snake for christmas last year and this year we got this black and white baby sand boa at work and i just couldn't pass it up. from what i have seen it isn't that common for them to have no yellow or orange pigment.