Kenyan Sand Boa
Gongylophis colubrinus

All about the Kenyan Sand Boa

Kenyan Sand Boas are small-sized snakes that are dark brown in color with light brown blotches and cream colored underbellies. Their coloring camouflages very well with their surroundings and helps protect them especially since they spend a considerable amount of time hiding in the sand. For this reason, their eyes and nostrils are located higher up on their heads allowing them to peer along the sand surface to check for both predators and prey. Females are predominantly larger than males reaching three feet in length while males are around two feet. They weigh around two pounds.

Diet/ Habitat/ Range

Kenyan Sand Boas are found in dry desert, semi-desert and Savannah type habitat in north-eastern and eastern Africa e.g. Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan. They are obligate carnivores feeding predominantly on meat including small mammals, small birds, small reptiles, and amphibians, insects, and arachnids.

Behavior

Kenyan Sand Boas are terrestrial and are active during the night(nocturnal). Unlike mammals, they cannot thermoregulate and are often seen basking in the sun to warm up. They are solitary by nature pairing only during the breeding season. Sand boas are ambush predators. They ambush and capture their prey, pulling them under the sand, constricting and incapacitating them before feeding on them.

Reproduction

Female Kenyan Sand Boas lay their eggs in winter and spring. They are ovoviviparous which means that although the young develop inside an egg within the female, they are delivered live. Females are known to deliver 10 to 20 young boas which usually are eight to 10 inches long.