Restless Kenyan Sand Boa

[appstate10]

I currently have a male kenyan sand boa that I have had for several years. I think he is about 3 years old. Well I went to college this year and snuck him into my dorm with me about 3 weeks ago. For the past week or so he has been trying to escape like crazy. He is constantly climbing the walls of his cage trying to get out. He is usually always under the sand and is hardly ever seen. I was wondering if anyone knew why he might be doing this? He is fed a pinky once every two weeks and he has been satisfied with that for several years. He is still eating regularly. The only things I can think of is that I think I have kept his heat lamp on more since I brought him here so the warmth might be causing him to be more hungry or just more active? Also he has been handled more than he is used to but not too much. Please help! I am worried! Here are some random details that might matter: He is about 13 inches long and is kept in a 10 gallon tank. He is in sand (I know that is not the best but he has lived in it since I got him without any problems). He has never had contact with another snake. He has a water dish on one side and a heat lamp on the other that I turn on if I think it is not warm enough. I have not changed anything.

 

[the toe cutter]

Could be numerous things, including the possibility that you are in a smaller space for longer periods and are simply able to observe his behavior more. Or that he is a healthy adult male looking for a mate. Or it could very well be that more heat has affected him and he has boosted his metabolism a little bit. But it sounds like environmental conditions haven't changed, and if thats correct then it could just be a behavioral shift. If it is an 12-15in male, seems like he would be about as wide as two fingers and will probably need either a larger food item or feed him more frequently. Try that and see what happens.

 

[JColt]

At 3 he should be eating lg hoppers or small mice every 10 days. He's real small. At 3 yrs he should be full grown. 2 feet for male and up to 3 for female. Is he on a stand with a tv or music playing? The vibrations would cause that.

 

[appstate10]

Thank you for your replies! He is not on a stand that has tv or music playing, and he mainly does it at night when it is quiet. He is very small but I have read that males only grow to about 15 inches on average. I will start feeding him more frequently though and see if that helps.

 

[dtknow]

If it is too warm-I'd highly reccomend removing the heat lamp and switching to belly heat only for a dorm situation. Their is a case of a fire caused by someone dropping a shirt onto a heatlamp over a leopard gecko cage kept in the closet in the dorm. A heatpad would be safer-and make...well...keeping him even easier.