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| Name: |
Tarif
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Age: |
Seven months old
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| Gender: |
Male
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Kind: |
Kenyan Sand Boa
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| Home: |
Rancho Cucamonga, California, USA
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IIwould like you all to meet Tarif. He is a Kenyan Sand Boa. I have 14 sand boas and each one is special to me. Tarif is a little bit more special than other snakes, maybe even other animals. Tarif only has one eye! His right eye is missing. Tarif was born that way.
Tarif has only been my pet for two weeks. He was given to me by a woman from South Carolina. Tarif was boxed up and mailed to me (don't worry, shipping reptiles is a common practice. In the sand boa community sand boas are judged my their morph (color) and age. Tarif is just a normal sand boa with not much value (except to me). Plus since he only has one eye he can't be a father. He can't be a father because he could pass down the gene to his children. Both of Tarif's parents had both eyes but the unknowingly had the gene. Now they won't be bred anymore because of the fear of having more one-eyed babies.
The woman who had him just gave him to me, because as started above, Tarif is �useless as a snake and can't be a daddy.� Even if he had both eyes he would only be worth $30.
When he was first born he refused to eat for the first three months. Most breeders would have euthanized a snake like that if they were born with one eye and refused to eat. Sometimes with baby sand boas it can take months of hard work to get them to eat. It can be very difficult and frustrating. To most people he would not have worth it, but not for this woman! She decided to work with him to get him to eat a pinky mouse. Tarif was born in May but is the size of a newborn (Kenyan Sand Boas actually give live birth, meaning they don't lay eggs like most reptiles).
The woman had lots of snakes, but thought no one would want him so she decided to keep him. She named him One Eyed Jack and he became her daughter's little buddy. She carried him around everywhere. I found out about him and she said that I could adopt him. I was so excited.
I have only had Tarif for two weeks, but he has already eaten for me once and will be fed again later today. Tarif is very small, weighing only 16 grams. He has actually gained 2 grams in the two weeks that I have owned him. I have only taken Tarif out of his cage twice. One time for weighing and the other time was today for pictures.
Tarif means unique in Arabian. I have names from all over the world for my snakes with each name having a special meaning. Such as Yuki. His name means snow in Japanese because he is all white. Or Raya which means stripe in Spanish because she has a stripe that goes down her back. I will not list all the names of my snakes. That would take far too long!
I am really excited to have Tarif part of my snake family now. He will keep gaining weight and will continue to get bigger until he reaches 100 grams.
Tarif has his own heated cage with plenty of sand to burrow in. He spends all his time underneath the sand with just his nose poking out. All sand boas spend their time this way because they are waiting for a mouse to walk by and they grab it.
I have a video of when Tarif first arrived, as I have a Vlog called Pets Plus EDS. Thanks for taking time to learn about Tarif, my new and unique snake.
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