The Experiment
Can selective breeding, across multiple generations, produce a line of Kenyan sand boas that voluntarily spends substantially more time above the substrate than the original founding population?
What We Are Testing
Kenyan sand boas are naturally fossorial.
The study is not attempting to eliminate that behavior.
Instead, we will look for consistent individual differences within the species.
Some animals may emerge more often, remain above the substrate longer, travel more while exposed, or take longer to reburrow after standardized husbandry.
We want to know whether those tendencies are repeatable and whether selecting for them produces a measurable shift in future generations.
Diversity, Not Expensive Morphs
Our target is approximately 24 juvenile Kenyan sand boas representing 20 unrelated source lines plus 3 control animals.
The goal is diversity, not expensive morphs.
Each founder will receive a permanent project ID such as:
- F0-01
- F0-02
- F0-03
That ID will remain associated with the animal throughout its life and will eventually connect to descendants in the project pedigree.
The first founders arrived in October 2026 and are in quarantine; more are on the way. Round 1 of the Founders’ Fund, open now, brings home the rest. Rack 1, their observation rack, is built and its cameras are recording.
Standardized Observation
The founding juveniles will be housed individually in matching observation enclosures. Core conditions will be standardized as closely as practical:
- Enclosure dimensions
- Substrate type and depth
- Lighting schedule
- Thermal opportunity
- Water access
- Hide design
- Feeding schedule
- Handling schedule
- Observation procedure
Approximately three inches of burrowing substrate will be provided. Every animal can completely bury itself.
Weekly Standardized Check
Animals will generally be left undisturbed between routine care events.
Approximately once per week, each animal will undergo the same standardized check.
- Visual health inspection
- Weight
- Feeding record update
- Shed status
- Enclosure check
- Substrate reset when appropriate
- Timestamp of return to the enclosure
That timestamp will also allow us to measure how quickly each animal chooses to reburrow after a standardized disturbance — the post-reset reburial latency.
Behavior That Repeats
The project will not select animals based on one interesting day.
We are interested in behavior that repeats over time.
Once the observation system has been validated, formal selection rules will be established before primary selection data are analyzed.
Breeding candidates will be chosen based on repeatable behavioral measurements, health, reproductive suitability, and genetic diversity.
The most surface-active snake will not automatically be bred to every other animal. Maintaining multiple unrelated family lines matters.
Then We Ask
Once selected animals are mature and suitable for breeding, pairings will produce the next generation. Those offspring will enter the same observation process.
- Did the population change?
- Do offspring resemble their parents?
- Do selected lines differ from unselected comparison animals?
- Does the effect become stronger across generations?
That is where the long-term experiment becomes interesting.