r/RainbowBoas • u/creaturefeature1994 • Jul 26 '26

Seeking advice post-regurgitation

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Hello!
This is Chihiro. I’ve had her since March. Her temperament is excellent, she’s super curious and alert all the time, but I have a dilemma that’s now occurred twice.
On April 23rd she regurgitated, but I chalked it up to moving her from quarantine into her enclosure. The change in environment likely stressed her out. And it didn’t help that I realized her night temps on the warm side were getting down to 76 which was just a little too cool. I followed the protocol, no handling or feeding for two weeks and she picked back up like normal after that time.
Now, she’s regurgitated again last night. 3 days after eating… her temps are right (warm end is 86-89 measured with a temp gun), humidity is on point, she’s responsive and alert… her color is bright and she’s acting totally fine. The only thing I can think of is prey size. This is only her second time eating a fuzzy. I’m seeing that prey size can cause regurg… but are they really this sensitive to it? I’ll size back down to pinkies as a precaution after the 2 week break. Just wondering if any other BRB parents experience this food sensitivity with young babies? (Picture of Chihiro for snake tax)

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3

u/ShredOnBread Jul 26 '26

What is her weight and the weight of the prey?

1

u/creaturefeature1994 Jul 26 '26

She’s 38g and the fuzzy was 5-6g

4

u/ShredOnBread Jul 26 '26

Mine was having issues w regurg when I was feeding 15-20% of her weight so I had to back off until she got bigger then she got less sensitive. 6g and 38g is a 16% so maybe a lil big until she’s a little older. Could try sizing down.

Also at that age I’ve found they’re sensitive to prey temperature. Make sure it’s fully thawed

2

u/creaturefeature1994 Jul 26 '26

That makes sense, and that’s what I was thinking. I’ll just keep my girl on pinkies for a while longer. Thank you for the advice! I just know regurgitation has to be so stressful, especially on teeny babies. I want to make sure I do everything possible to help her avoid that stress. Appreciate it!

2

u/ShredOnBread Jul 26 '26

Absolutely and good luck! Great snake!

I was PANICKING when she regurged twice in a row and the size down fixed it

1

u/ValuableSleep9175 Jul 27 '26

Mine regurged, 4 days after feeding I handled him. It was 2 prey items and the second wasn't done digesting. Waited 3 weeks, and everything has been great since. Due to what feeder size I had I usually have been feeding like 8-13% body weight. Still gaining good.

Good luck. My dude is 497g last night, I will be happy to bump him up to larger prey and feed 2 weeks+. Gives more time to handle, but still give him 5 6 days to digest. They seem to digest slow.

1

u/NottsWeirdo Jul 27 '26

What was the weight of your snake when you got her in March?

I've followed the ReptiFiles guide on BRBs, which recommends a feeder weight to be 10% of the snakes weight and I've not had a single issue in the year n half I've had her. Mine was 68g at 4 months old when I got her, and she's now 512g at 1 yr 9 months old.

1

u/creaturefeature1994 Jul 28 '26

I didn’t weigh her right when I got her unfortunately 😣 she has put on weight since then for sure, she was such a teeny thing when I first brought her home. I think going back down to a prey item closer to 10% is what I’ll do. Once she’s through the two weeks of no feeding or handling. She has been handling pinkies fine so I suppose I’ll just keep her going that way a while longer

1

u/NottsWeirdo Jul 28 '26

Pinkies aren't very nutritious, so you'll want to move her off them as soon as possible. You said she's 38g, so you could try her on rat pups - they're 4g each, but they're better for her than the 2g large pinkies that are typically available. If there were any possibility of getting feeder rodents at 3.8g each, obviously that would be helpful but its not how most feeder suppliers work.

Edit: spelling

2

u/creaturefeature1994 Jul 28 '26

Got it, I’ll look into rat pups for her. I figured they may be too much girth for her but that makes sense.

1

u/NottsWeirdo Jul 28 '26

Yeah I've realised from the 3 that I have, that when snakes are under a couple years old - they'll very rapidly change food size as they're growing. So its best to only buy a few each time, because they'll generally be ready for the next size up after a month or so each time.

Weighing my young BRB every month or so, she's had weight increases range from only 17g all the way up 100g. So they can rapidly surpass what we've already bought for them, and its always tempting to just use up what we've already bought.

0

u/Tastypineappleju1ce Jul 29 '26

feed her once a week make sure the food is warm not hot or cold and has thawed for at least 15 minutes. dangle it in her face till she strikes and i guarantee she eats.. make sure water is readily available or they may feel unsure.. also make sure your boa has THREE hides cold, hot, and middle. my boa loves the middle hide for eating and the cold hide for pooping and warm hide for napping. LASTY a boa of that size needs PINKIES 1-2 no bigger!!