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Watch our first founders in quarantine now, and on the rack once they move in.
View Live CamsSmall Snakes. Big Questions.
A multi-year, real-world science project exploring whether selective breeding can produce Kenyan sand boas that choose to spend more time above ground.
Now taking pledges: Round 1 of the Founders’ Fund is openFounders Live
Founders ArrivingMeet the Snakes
Get to know each snake, their story, photos and progress as founders join.
Explore ProfilesSurface Activity
Not Yet CollectingNo data yet. Formal observation has not started.
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Fund OpenSupport the Project
Back the Founders' Fund right here on our site, or follow along for free.
See Ways to HelpMilestone · October 2026
The Rack Is Built. The Founders Are Arriving.
What began as a seven-year-old’s question about Kenyan sand boas now has a home.
Rack 1 is built: 20 tubs with heat and light, and 12 MP cameras over each pair of tubs recording around the clock. Our first founders are here and in quarantine, on camera, before they move onto the rack.
We are not collecting formal scientific results yet. We are building and validating the tools needed to collect them correctly.
The snakes will grow. The generations will change. And the young researcher who started the experiment will grow right alongside them.
Project Progress
Where We Are, Step by Step
Done means done for what each step names. The system works in prototype form; formal behavioral data collection has not begun.
Updated October 2026
Research concept
CompleteA seven-year-old’s question turned into a testable study design.
Equipment selection
CompleteRack, 12 MP PoE cameras, server, and software stack chosen.
Prototype tested
CompleteOne camera over two test tubs proved the cameras, motion tracking and live view. The test bench is now retired.
Rack 1 built
CompleteThe 20-tub observation rack, with heat and lights, on a battery-backed network.
Rack cameras
In progressOne 12 MP camera over every pair of tubs, on a PoE switch with battery backup.
Camera calibration
In progressField of view, image quality, reflections, label readability, and a watch zone drawn for every rack tub.
AI observation software
In progressPrototypes: motion tracking, tub zones, label checks and an experimental animal finder. Not validated.
Founders’ Fund
In progressRound 1 is open: the last cameras, the remaining founders, and their first year of care.
Observation system validation
UpcomingProve the measurements are reliable, and that outages count as missing data, before any study animal is measured.
Founder population
In progress24 Kenyan sand boas from 20 unrelated lines plus 3 controls, one birth season, reserved by spring 2027. Founders are arriving now and start in quarantine.
Formal behavioral observations
PlannedPreregistered protocol, then the first study data.
Multi-generation research
Long-termSelective breeding only if the evidence, welfare, and genetic diversity support it.
The Question
Most Kenyan sand boas are very good at doing exactly what their name suggests: disappearing into the sand.
That is normal, healthy behavior for the species. But individual animals are not identical.
Some emerge more often. Some remain above the substrate longer. Some explore. Some seem far less interested in disappearing than others.
Our question is simple:
If we carefully measure those differences and selectively breed the most consistently surface-active animals, will their descendants become more surface-active too?
We do not know. That is why this project exists.
Project Principles
Observe. Measure. Select. Discover.
Observe
Continuous and repeated behavioral observation.
Measure
Turn impressions into objective records.
Select
If the evidence supports it, choose breeding candidates on repeatable behavior, health, and genetic diversity.
Discover
Follow the results across generations — including results that do not support our hypothesis.
Study Design
Same Care. Same Conditions. Different Personalities.
The animals will not be prevented from burrowing.
Every study animal will have enough substrate to completely disappear if it chooses.
We are not trying to force a sand boa to stay visible.
We are looking for the individuals that have every reasonable opportunity to hide — and repeatedly choose not to.
Rack 1 online · Founders arriving
Current Status
- Study population
- 11 of approximately 24 Kenyan sand boas here, in quarantine first
- Source diversity
- Target: 20 unrelated lines plus 3 control animals
- Observation system
- Rack 1 built (20 tubs); 8 of 10 cameras recording; no animals on the rack until quarantine ends
- AI behavior analysis
- Prototypes (motion, tub zones, label check, an experimental animal finder); not scientifically validated
- Research protocol
- Draft; validation and preregistration before any study data
- Behavioral data
- Not yet collecting formal study data
- Current generation
- F0 — Founding Population
The Long View
This Is Not a Quick Breeding Project.
The first generation must grow.
Breeding animals must reach appropriate maturity and body condition.
Offspring must then be raised and observed under the same standardized conditions. The process may take many years.
That is part of the point.
We are building the project so that the record can outlast any individual breeding season and eventually show how behavior changes — or does not change — across generations.
Founders' Fund open
Help Build the Founding Generation.
The rack is built and most of its cameras are recording. Now the project needs the rest: the last cameras, the remaining founders from 20 unrelated lines, and their first year of care. The Founders’ Fund runs right here on our site.
Follow the build
Get an email when new founders arrive, when they move onto the rack, and when we have results. A few emails a month at most.
Same Care. Same Conditions. Different Personalities.
Follow the experiment from the very beginning. No manufactured results. No guaranteed outcome. No pretending we already know the answer.
Real Animals.
Real Science.
A Brighter Future.
