Rosy sleeping upside down

FinishingFlight · 07-17-16, 03:28 PM

Along with the new BP my boyfriend brought home a Bay of LA locality Rosy Boa two weeks ago, she is roughly 9 months old and seems overall to be doing well. Except she likes to scare us by sleeping upside down. Is this normal? When I first noticed it I panicked and went to go check, when I opened up her tub she flipped her head over to flick a tongue at me, but didn't try to hide or right herself. I scooped her up, and she slowly righted herself. She seemed to be fine and explored around me hand before I put her back and she slowly went to her hide.

I'm used to handling corns and the hognoses, which always seem more like spitfire compared to her. Is this normal to be this chill for a young snake that isn't used to us yet?

She is in a sweater tub, with the hot side mat thermostat set to 92* with the top of the substrate being 88*, the cool side sits in the high 70s.

I'm offering water once a week for a full 24 hours.

She ate a pinky last Monday, and I plan on offering another tomorrow.

She is always on the hot side of the mat and I catch her upside down about 25% of the time.

FinishingFlight · 07-17-16, 06:30 PM

So here is a picture of what she looks like right after I open her tub.

Albert Clark · 07-17-16, 07:23 PM

Pretty good looking reptile. I think it's normal for a animal to get into a contorted position for comfort. You usually see this behavior in gravid animals but it certainly can be seen at other times.

PsychoSnake · 07-18-16, 11:31 AM

Rosy boas usually have two kinds of temperaments: super chill or ridiculously "hungry" all the time. Sleeping upside down is not something I've seen in my collection though.

It wouldn't hurt to take her to a herp vet to get a neurological exam. She could just be a weirdo that likes odd positions to get comfortable or she may have something neurological going on that is making it difficult for her to stay up right. Look for any other odd movements or behaviors like stargazing. It's not a bad idea to keep track of her feeding schedule and her weight (use a small kitchen scale used for food). Weight is a good measure of health. Otherwise don't freak out and just keep an eye on her.

Also you don't need to be so restrictive with water access. That rule is for when you're hibernating your rosies in the winter. They tend to knock over or soak when it's too cold and get respiratory infections. When they are warm it's not a big deal. My rosies have 24/7 access to water and they haven't had a single health issue from it.

macandchz · 07-18-16, 01:00 PM

i have never seen a snake sleep like that before! maybe that is just a position of comfort. so glad you posted a picture.

FinishingFlight · 07-20-16, 12:04 AM

Besides the occasional sleeping upside down, she seems perfectly normal. She doesn't have a head shake, and doesn't seem to randomly flip over. I'm thinking the occasional sleeping upside down is intentional.

She ate two pinkies today with barely any hesitation.

So everything I researched said that most people only sometimes offer water for humidity reasons. So I was following that, but if she is fine I'll happily keep it in there with her.