Sand demon The sand demon was a species of semi - sentient , six - legged insectoid that was native to the planet Tatooine . Feared by all other life on the desert world , sand demons preyed on a wide variety of creatures , including the legendary krayt dragon . Sand demons often lived for centuries , gliding beneath the surface of the desert as though the sand was an ocean and boring through rock with its razor - sharp legs . Tatooine ' s native Tusken Raiders believed that sand demons devoured their victims ' life essences to grow stronger with each kill . Physically similar to the tentacled lyleks native to the planet Ryloth , sand demons were often tracked by members of the Jedi Order as part of the Tusken Raiders ' Demon ' s Blood ritual , and while brave hunters occasionally sought to bring down one of the beasts , the creatures ' ferocity and rarity left them shrouded in legends and myths . Biology and appearance . Sand demons were large , six - legged insectoids that ranged in size from the average height of a Human to more than twice that amount . Native to the desert planet Tatooine , sand demons possessed red eyes that were situated on tall stalks on either side of their powerful , tooth - filled mouth . The bottom and top of each eye stalk was protected by chitin , while the eye itself was covered with a sand - resistant membrane . The creature ' s jaws allowed it to latch onto prey with a nearly unshakable grip . Each of the sand demon ' s six talon - like legs were armored in chitin that ranged in color from brown to black , matching the wide shell that protected the sand demon ' s upper body . The creature ' s underbelly was soft and relatively unprotected , and the unarmored parts of its body ranged in color from gold to a greenish - tan . Sand demons experienced periods of hibernation , but each sand demon underwent a process of shedding its skin and profuse bleeding before doing so . After awakening from hibernation , the sand demon ' s new skin was coated in a kind of glistening gel , similar to the kind that covered newborn sand demons . The sand demon was very similar to the lylek , a six - legged predator native to the desert world of Ryloth , though the two creatures differed in that the sand demon lacked the two thick tentacles possessed by the lylek . According to Tatooine ' s native Tusken Raiders , sand demons could live for centuries . Behavior and intelligence . A semi - sentient species with moderate intelligence , sand demons traveled beneath the desert sands in a way that natives described as " sand swimming , " gliding underneath the desert ' s surface like it was an ocean . They were also capable of digging through rock and sand with their talons , leaving behind tunnels and caves beneath Tatooine ' s surface . The creatures erupted from beneath the desert to consume their prey . Sand demons occupied the highest point of Tatooine ' s food chain , as they were the only known predator of Tatooine ' s enormous krayt dragons — massive lizards that averaged thirty meters in length and ten in height . History . By the time of the Cold War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire , sand demons were well - known among the natives of their homeworld , Tatooine , though they were largely shrouded in myths and legends . Grainy satellite images and the stories of Tatooine ' s nomads prevented the rest of the galaxy from dispelling sand demons as an outright myth , and almost all attempts to learn more about the creatures ended in disaster . The Tusken Raiders believed the sand demons absorbed their victims ' life essence in order to strengthen themselves , and the Raiders made cave paintings of ancient sand demons that had supposedly survived for centuries through this process — sand demons that were believed to be immune to any injury . The mercenary Kord Murdok hunted sand demons for a time on Tatooine , and the Demon ' s Blood ritual was a tradition that had existed for generations , though by the time of the Cold War , it was no longer well - known . For the ritual , members of the Jedi Order who were seeking enlightenment tracked a sand demon out into the deserts to anoint themselves with its blood , and those Jedi who successfully returned then visited the Tusken Raiders to learn their own unique path to self - discovery . Several sand demons made their nest in an abandoned mining complex in the Dune Sea region around 3643 BBY , when they were drawn to seismic vibrations generated by the Republic ' s stolen Shock Drum superweapon . These sand demons were killed by a young Jedi Knight who was seeking to shut down the Shock Drum and also rescue Jedi Master Bela Kiwiiks , whom the Sith Lord Praven had left to die in front of the weapon . Around the same time , the Padawan Jaesa Willsaam underwent the Demon ' s Blood ritual by seeking out an ancient sand demon within a cave in the Shattered Basin region . With the help of an explorer named Sharack Breev , a Sith apprentice later retraced Willsaam ' s steps during the Sith ' s search for Willsaam , neutralizing the beast and performing the ritual . Around 3639 BBY , a sand demon was affected by a Seed of Rage , a Sith alchemical artifact planted in the northern reaches of the Dune Sea , and it underwent significant physical changes . The sand demon developed gray - black growths on its body , while the beast ' s eyes turned red , and its skin became covered in red energy . Behind the scenes . The sand demon was first introduced in " " , a video game released by BioWare and LucasArts in 2011 . The creatures appear in the Jedi Knight - class mission " The Sand Demon ' s Lair , " in which the player must fight through several sand demons to reach the Shock Drum in the next chamber . Players can also choose to sacrifice the family of the Jawa Brrik in order to eliminate some of the sand demons , which results in dark - side alignment points . However , as a Republic character , the Jedi Knight is assumed to only choose the light - side options , so this article likewise assumes that the Knight did not sacrifice Brrik ' s family . The sand demon ' s appearance is virtually identical to the lylek , a predator from Ryloth , though the lylek features a number of tentacles . However , two lylek mini - pets were introduced to " The Old Republic " in March and April 2013 , and the pets utilize a recolored sand demon model to represent a lylek , though both lack the tentacles that distinguish the lylek from the sand demon . Another sand demon appears in the Sith Warrior - class mission " Demon ' s Blood , " in which the player performs the Demon ' s Blood ritual . Depending on the choice made , the player gains either light or dark alignment points or none at all . If the player outright attacks the beast or subdues and then kills it , the player will gain dark alignment points . If the player subdues the beast and waits for it to shed , the player will gain light alignment points . If the player fails to subdue it , no alignment points are given . The game ' s text files reveal that the sand demon in the Sith Warrior storyline was originally planned to be a krayt dragon ; the conversation file for the confrontation with the creature is labeled " ancient _ krayt _ dragon . txt . " " Sand Demon " is capitalized within the game , though the 2012 reference guide " " , which gives additional information on the creatures , does not . A sand demon also appears in the game ' s first digital expansion , " " , in which a sand demon is under the influence of a Seed of Rage on Tatooine .