What term describes the lifestyle adaptation defining many sand boas, involving life spent mostly underground or hidden in substrate?

Fossorial

The defining characteristic of many sand boas is their specialized adaptation to a fossorial existence. This term specifically refers to an organism living predominantly underground or deeply concealed within loose materials such as sand or soil substrate. This biological specialization dictates their physical build, which features short, thick, and somewhat conical bodies perfectly engineered for pushing through and moving within substrate, rather than moving quickly across hard, open surfaces. This contrasts sharply with snake families built for speed, which rely on length or specialized belly scales for friction over ground. For a sand boa, remaining hidden is the default state; consequently, even when kept in captivity, they naturally spend the majority of their time partially or wholly buried beneath the surface material.