Slow Growth?

[phenyx]

I've seen it said many times that boas grow more slowly than other species. Does that refer to all species with "boa" in their names or just to BC and BI? And exactly how slow is slow?

I ask because I've had Jerkface for 4 months now and in that time he's gained a total of 9 grams in weight. He was 27 grams when I got him in late February and just 36 at his vet visit last Tuesday. As most of you know, he's regurged 3 times in 4 months. The rest of the time, he keeps his meals (a 5-7 gram mouse fuzzy every 7 days, unless he's coming off a regurg) down just fine.

Even with the regurges I would think he'd have gained more weight in 4 months than just 9 grams. His fecal sample came back negative for parasites and the vet said he doesn't have mites and that he looked healthy. So what keeps a snake that's eating regularly from gaining weight and growing?

Relevant stats because I know someone's going to ask: Ambient temp is 77 degrees; his hot spot has a substrate surface temp of 83 (as measured by IR temp gun); and his humidity is consistently 90%+. He has hides, climbing branches and lots of cover. He's also on a 12/12 light cycle.