Newbie questions!

Hey all,

Just got into Kenyan sand boas about 8 months ago and I'm definitely an addict. I've got 7 right now, ranging from neonates, subadults to yearlings and I'm planning on adding more and eventually try my hand at breeding them. Just have to make sure I know how to raise 'em up all proper from babies first! We're now starting to run out of space in our converted snakeroom, and I've ordered a nice stack of cages from Boaphile in anticipation of all the soon-to-be-acquired beauties.

That being said, I'm running into a few things that I haven't been able to find much info on. First being what could be a health issue with one of my axanthics - she seems to be, what could only really be described as 'squishy' when handled. Healthwise, she's fine, good eater, responsive, hell, she was even my first escapee and we found her a month later perfectly fine. (funnily enough, we had named her Pandora the night before she got out of her cage.)

However, even before the great escape, I noticed this trait. Her belly seems really pliable and soft, it tenses up just fine when she moves and she doesn't seem very limp, she's quite the little explorer, but when she doesn't move, she appears kind of limp. I haven't been over or underfeeding her and she doesn't appear to be any fatter than my other Kenyans. I've read some things about paralysis in rosies a while back, but I have no idea if it's applicable here.

The second thing is the one I see all the time regarding Kenyans -- substrate! I've been using both sand and walnut shells just fine, I just don't ever feed my snakes on them. I am kind of curious if anyone's actually used soil and how well it's worked as I'm thinking of experimenting with different substrates when their new cages get here. I read on the Barker's site that they used a mixture of soil, but I'm unsure where to get suitable soil -- I'd hate to go pick up a bag at Walmart or something and have some sort of chemical I was ignorant of kill my snakes. I've seen a whole bunch of sites advertising safe aspen and other bedding, but does anyone know of any safe soil to use and where one might acquire it?

Lastly, Kenyan breeders! I've been scouring alot of forums and galleries looking at all the great morphs coming out and contacting some people, but hey, any suggestions are always welcome!

Thanks for any insights you can give.

-- Phil