Kenyan Sand Boa Shed

Katters 35 · 04-17-12, 01:03 PM

I recently got 2 sand boa hatchlings and I love them. I am a tad concerned about one of them. She has had a dull coat since the time I bought her almost one week ago. I got them from the breeder that I have gotten all of my wonderful snakes from and have had no problems. Tomorrow is going to be their first feeding and since I have no seen her eye be cloudy I am going to give her the opportunity to feed if she wants. I have a moisture container in their 10 gallon tank and heat on one side as well as water on the cold side. I use crushed walnut substrate. Her skin is very dull and and she doesn't have the normal snake feel and fairly loose kind of skin. I soaked her for a bit but have only done it for short periods of time because I have read that over hydrating could be an issue with these snakes. I'm at a loss as to what to do.

Lankyrob · 04-17-12, 02:08 PM

NEver had Kenyans but to me that snake looks like it is in blue??

CDN_Blood · 04-17-12, 03:26 PM

It looks mid-moult to me. Some will eat during that time, some won't. Personally I never feed a snake that's in a moult because I don't want to damage the skin during that susceptible time, but that's just a personal choice.

One thing I would do however, is remove the moisture container and don't soak the snake. These things are sensitive to too much humidity. Being *sand* boas, they've evolved in and adapted to very arid conditions. Humidity can cause problems for them. Just a thought...

CK SandBoas · 04-17-12, 03:26 PM

That Kenyan is definitely deep in shed. In my opinion, i would hold off feeding her until she sheds her skin. As long as she has a humid hide, she should be fine with her shedding. As soon as she does shed, you can offer her food

marvelfreak · 04-17-12, 03:27 PM

We have three KSB breeder on this site so i am sure one of them can help. Chris was posting as i typed.

mykee · 04-17-12, 04:41 PM

That animal is deep in shed. I just pour out their water dishes into the Kenyans substrate until after they shed. No worries about too much humidity for a few days.

jaleely · 04-17-12, 08:19 PM

My female kenyan sand boa eats if she's in shed or not, whereas my male will hold off until his shed is done. They are on sand (now, and seem to enjoy it more than sanichips) and have a nice water dish, that my female used to immerse her head in. Recently i got some advice on their care from a big breeder, and i have put a "sauna" in the tank on the warm side (still leaving a warm spot next to it in just plain sand). It's a tupperware with a snake sized hole cut in the side, filled with moist spagnum moss. She LOVES it. She is in there almost all the time. The male couldn't care less. She however, enjoys more moisture. In just my short experience with my two, they seem to like a lot more humidity and moisture than it seemed they would need, being "sand" boas.