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Before working at PetSmart, I really did not like 2 animals.... rats and snakes. But after a couple weeks of working there I fell in love with them, and they are now some of my favorite animals. So I eventually got some pet rats, but my mom said she drew the line with snakes. As much as I have wanted some that have come through the store I haven't bought any. We have had this snake called a Sand Boa for the past 4 or 5 months and I fell in love with him. He is one of the coolest, cutest snakes I have come across. Since we have had him I have wanted to get him but knew I wouldn't be allowed to bring him home, but the more I handled him and got him out to show people I realized how awesome of a snake this guy is..... Well you probably can see where this is going....

One day I went to work and went to put the snakes that already ate away... And there he was, and as I was putting him away I couldn't resist not to get him. I decided it was meant to be because he wasn't scheduled to eat that day and if I hadn't have to put him away I wouldn't have been so tempted. My manages found out I was thinking about getting him and when I talked myself out.... they talked me into it...And they had some very good, legit reasons.... So I did it with my moms words echoing in my head "don't ask...don't tell"

 

I bought him and brought him home that night, without letting my parents find out... My plan was to just keep him a secret, after all it was in my room and he wouldn't be able to escape his cage even if he did try. The great thing about sand boas is they aren't much of a climber, rather a burrower in sand so he can't reach the lid where I have cage clips to keep the lid from being pushed up. But the next morning I freaked out and felt so guilty I had to tell my mom..... Yes she did freak out a bit, but not as much as I thought.. and she still says I have to get rid of it, even though its been a week, but this snake is legit and I am going to keep it, even if it means keeping him somewhere else. I wake up in the mornings and his little head is poking out of the sand at me. My friend Hutch and I having been trying to think of names for this little guy.... We are between Steve and Alex, but if you have any great names that will fit him just let me know.

Sand Boa

So he is legit. Just a few facts:

•  This snake species is found in semi-arid desert regions, scrub savannahs, and rock
  outcroppings of East Africa; Egypt south to Tanzania; southwest Somalia west to Kenya.
•  Females are generally larger than males, weighing up to 2 pounds. Female length: 26-32 inches; Male length: 15 inches - - - I believe mine is a male because he is about 12 inches right now so he could get a little bigger
• The Kenyan sand boa spends most of its life buried in the sand, quite invisible. It also lives hidden under stones and in the burrows of other animals.
• They are Ovoviviparous, which means although the babies develop inside eggs within the mother, they will be born live.
• Sand boas are some of the smallest boa species on Earth.
• The eyes and nostrils of the sand boa are on the top of the head so they can breath and search the surface for prey while the rest of their body lies hidden beneath the sand.