Kenyan sand boas are ovivaparous. They don't lay eggs like most pythons and other snakes, but like most boas they
give birth to live baby snakes.
Kenyan sand boas reach sexual maturity at 2 to 3 years of age, but males can father
a litter as early as six or so months (given they are big enough at the time). The male has two sexual organs called hemipenes.
Their mating season is March through May.
Below a pair of normal Kenyan sand boas mating.
During mating, the sand boas usualy stay under the substrate with their tails above the level, like in the photograph above.
Once a successful mating took place, the females will go through ovulation. It will show as bloating of the snakes body
in the mid section, will last a day and then disappear. It is a sign that the female is pregnant.
Kenyan sand boas give live birth - they don't lay eggs. Below is a photo of an albino Kenyan sand boa giving birth.
Gestation takes about 6 to 8 months, after which the babies are born. They don't lay eggs and give live birth.
Kenyan sand boas can have as little as few babies in a litter, but most of the time they will have more. The usual litter size will
be between 15 and 20 babies. This year, 2007, one of my females had 21 babies. They will shed in about
a week after being born.
Kenyan sand boas start eating soon after the first shed. Many start right away on frozen thawed pinkie mice, and all the
others will go for live pinkies. They are ambush preditors, and will strike the mouse when you just place it on the surface of the substrate.