BRB - Need help!

Hey guys, I was thinking of adopting this 2014 male BRB.

Again, hes a 2014, about 3 feet long. He's 171 grams.
He feeds on 2 mouse hoppers a week.

To me, this seems... extremely small? The breeder told me he has a sensitive stomach that is a characteristic of a certain hypo line. The male he is selling is het hypo.

I can't find ANY info on this... is it fishy? Is it true? If it is true, could you guys fill me in on exactly what's going on and why it happens?

Thanks!

I have never heard of any line of hypo BRB's having a sensitive stomach.

If you are on Facebook ask in the Brazilian Rainbow Boas group as there are several people working with hypos in it.

My BRB female (non hypo) produced a litter in 2014, and the two holdbacks I have are on a small rat every two weeks now.

Just MHO but... if this is a real problem with the gene then I would not purchase this animal as a breeder.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I have never heard of any line of hypo BRB's having a sensitive stomach.

If you are on Facebook ask in the Brazilian Rainbow Boas group as there are several people working with hypos in it.

My BRB female (non hypo) produced a litter in 2014, and the two holdbacks I have are on a small rat every two weeks now.

Just MHO but... if this is a real problem with the gene then I would not purchase this animal as a breeder.

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I'm not planning to breed them at all, just looking for a good pet. :)

I can't ask the group because the seller is in it LOL. I don't want him to see me questioning it especially since hes a "bigger" breeder name.

I appreciate your input though. I figured if it was an issue I could find info online, but...nothing came up.

Ive never heard that either. Sounds strange.

So what did the breeder say you needed to do? Keep serving super small meals to a big snake? My BRB would flip out if he was getting undersized meals. He is a character.

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Originally Posted by KMG

Ive never heard that either. Sounds strange.

So what did the breeder say you needed to do? Keep serving super small meals to a big snake?

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He's little. He said he was going to offer a mouse wean, I think, and see if he takes it.

Just... look at this guy.
http://i.imgur.com/VU4RtRA.jpg

Lots of regurge in his history too.

Maybe you should look for one that isn't het hypo. Regardless of whether it is truly characteristic of the hypo line wouldn't it be better for you if you don't plan on breeding it to buy as healthy of a snake as you can? I know I wouldn't want to risk it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kxr

Maybe you should look for one that isn't het hypo. Regardless of whether it is truly characteristic of the hypo line wouldn't it be better for you if you don't plan on breeding it to buy as healthy of a snake as you can? I know I wouldn't want to risk it.

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Agreed. I didnt know he was het hypo at first, as hes a normal. I was looking for an older/larger BRB and he said he had 2014's so we went from there. But they're smaller than they ought to be.

I was just super curious whether this was true or not. I've heard of morphs causing issues, but not any that affect digestive tract/prey size/etc.

Personally I would not want to take on a regurg prone snake. I lost a GTP that gave me those kinds of issues. It was stressful for the both of us and didn't end well.

Get you a nice normal BRB and will be much happier in the long run.

I love my BRB. He is always very curious and loves to watch me as I move around the snake room. Im sure he is looking for a rat in my pocket but he for sure has the most personality of all my snakes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KMG

Personally I would not want to take on a regurg prone snake. I lost a GTP that gave me those kinds of issues. It was stressful for the both of us and didn't end well.

Get you a nice normal BRB and will be much happier in the long run.

I love my BRB. He is always very curious and loves to watch me as I move around the snake room. Im sure he is looking for a rat in my pocket but he for sure has the most personality of all my snakes.

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Yeah, I appreciate it. I thought it would be cool to take him on as a pet, but that was before I knew WHAT he was eating and saw his records. At first it was just that he takes smaller prey than usual because he has a sensitive stomach. Then I asked what he ate, and it's mouse hoppers... He's getting maybe 12 grams of food a week. Just isn't right for his age. If it was a size down from normal, it wouldn't be a big deal. Then I saw all the regurges on his records... I assumed he regurged if he was fed prey that was too big, but I saw he has regurged several hoppers as well.

I can't find any information about hypo issues. I've exhausted all the google terms I could think of. I don't think this breeder is trying to pull one over on me, I don't get that vibe... but I think he has been misinformed by somebody else. If this was a known issue I feel like I could find evidence of it online but I just can't. He's a well known BRB breeder too, so I don't think he's trying to play games. He offered me other animals, this male just had my interest because he'd be a pet only and I really don't like the idea of somebody trying to breed him.

I think I'll look elsewhere, but if this is a true issue I am interested in learning about it, if anyone else has any input!

Yup I wouldn't take on a snake that has regorge problems... my BRB is around 130 grams and is a 2015 baby so that one is definitely very small for its age.