Kenyan Sand Boa
(Gongylophis colubrinus)
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This is KJ, a little snake with a big personality. It took a long time to find one, and they do vary in their level of handle-ability. Luckily when I met him he seemed pretty relaxed and he has turned out to be fantastic with children.
As with so many of my animals, you have to be very gentle about scooping them out of their cage, as that is the moment when they could be nervous. Once out he is so calm, and loves wriggling slowly through little hands. He has eyes on top of his head so he can hide in the sand (giving him a cute 'froggy' look). He is slightly puzzled by hands and often pushes his little shovel nose to try and 'bury' himself, which is a bit ticklish and makes children giggle. He was initially going to be called Shanzu as a Kenyan friend of mine named him (it means 'sandy place'). This was scuppered my my daughter wanting to call him Keanjaho which means 'mountain of beans'. This made her laugh so we renamed him (KJ for short). Fascinating fact: KJ can 'dive' under the sand and his party trick is to do this in front of everyone, but he is so nosey he usually comes up again! |
Enrichment for KJ (this is extra on top of his feed schedule, cage cleaning and monitoring of temperatures.)
1. Nice deep sand to dive into, he sometimes buries himself and sometimes lies on top. It is warm under the sand at one end of his cage so he can snuggle under and be toasty.
2. Branches to climb up and fake leaves to hide in.
3. A bowl of water to drink from or to have a soak in.
4. His cardboard boxes and kitchen towel tubes for hiding in get replaced for hygiene but also he like sniffing the new ones.
5.Coming out for a wriggle and an explore either at home or in school. Lots of new fingers and hands to explore and smell. Good exercise!
6. He can see and smell some of the other animals in the room which seems to interest him.
7. He doesn't need spraying as he is more of a desert animal but I do spray him occasionally anyway as there can sometimes be big rainstorms in the desert. He seems to like exploring the wet sand...
8. Some stones to rub against when he's ready to shed his skin.
9. Sometimes I chuck in something to smell and touch like a leaf or a bit of moss or a stick from the garden.
1. Nice deep sand to dive into, he sometimes buries himself and sometimes lies on top. It is warm under the sand at one end of his cage so he can snuggle under and be toasty.
2. Branches to climb up and fake leaves to hide in.
3. A bowl of water to drink from or to have a soak in.
4. His cardboard boxes and kitchen towel tubes for hiding in get replaced for hygiene but also he like sniffing the new ones.
5.Coming out for a wriggle and an explore either at home or in school. Lots of new fingers and hands to explore and smell. Good exercise!
6. He can see and smell some of the other animals in the room which seems to interest him.
7. He doesn't need spraying as he is more of a desert animal but I do spray him occasionally anyway as there can sometimes be big rainstorms in the desert. He seems to like exploring the wet sand...
8. Some stones to rub against when he's ready to shed his skin.
9. Sometimes I chuck in something to smell and touch like a leaf or a bit of moss or a stick from the garden.