The behaviour is well-documented in both white-lipped pythons and Apadora. I know there are a few other species, but my head is not all in it today
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My friend’s rosy boas do that occasionally. Very weird.
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It is my understanding that if given access to water after they feed Rosys will gorge on the water and regurgitate the meal.
My rosy has never done this and he has access to water all the time……. 
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I have heard people on both sides of this. I think it might be more the specific animal and less the species overall.
I also have a bit of a suspicion that the behaviour may be a “learned” one where people that believe they will drink themselves sick refrain from giving the animals water from birth and so they are conditioned to glut when it is available whereas animals from people that raise from birth with water always available do not feel the need
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This is all so interesting! I was totally unaware that producing hairballs was something snakes ever did. Owl “pellets,” yes. Cats, of course. But snakes? Wow. Definitely comes in the category of new knowledge for me.
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Oh my goodness! I believe all animals should have access to water at all times. What you say makes sense though…….
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Absolutely agree with this!! The only exception is very short term under veterinary orders, such as being NPO before surgery.
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Yes I should have added that at the end. Thanks for the agreement! Water is essential to all living creatures! 
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I knew you exactly what you meant, @caron. The medical exception was just on my mind at the moment.
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I keep rosy boas and always have water in with them. Typically, it’s not a problem, but I have had a regurgitation or two. Both times it happened with snakes that I was regularly providing water to with no issues. However, I noticed that the snakes drank a lot of water each time before regurgitating. So my theory is that the water doesn’t cause regurgitation per se, but if they are going to regurgitate they drink a lot of water so it doesn’t burn as much on the way out. I’ve had a few ball pythons drink a lot of water before regurgitating as well.
Humidity is also important. My rosys are happiest when the humidity is in the 30-50% range. Any drier and they start swimming in their water bowls, any wetter and they either regurgitate or just won’t eat. Maybe that’s why some breeders have had success limiting their snakes’ access to water. Removing the water bowl would help prevent the humidity from getting too high if you live in a humid area or have them in a rack with poor ventilation. It doesn’t get very humid where I live and I always make sure my rosys have plenty of ventilation in their cages so I can leave the water bowls in all the time.
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To be honest I never knew before I got my rosy about the water issue. When I heard there could be a problem it was my understanding that rosys tend to gorge on water for whatever reason and it was best to remove the water a couple of days before feeding. Otherwise the rosy may not eat because they are too full of water. So I started removing his water before I fed him and he became a hit or miss eater. Because of that I just kept him the water in with him all the time. The feeding before last he was in full blue and he scarfed down his meal and about a week later he shed perfectly. I live in the middle of Indiana where the heat and humidity is out the wazoo.
Your theory is plausible. Regurgitation is painful for me with the acidity involved in the process so yes it has to be the same for the snake. The snake knows what it needs beforehand to get through the process! Why not? It makes perfect sense!
Based on your theory and imho, I believe water bowls should always be accessible to Rosys because they are great indicators of too much or too little humidity. My little guy is in a tub even though tub keeping is frowned upon by a lot of keepers, but he is a consistent eater and he is thriving. Plus he’s the most mellow snake I’ve ever had.
Thanks for your insight @7snakes! That’s why I love this forum so much! The are so many great discussions and so much learning to be had! At least for me! 
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Before I got my first rosy I looked into it. There wasn’t a consensus, but there were reputable breeders on both sides. I remember doing a comparison between two in particular, one who had water in with his snakes all the time and another who only gave his snakes water once a month for a few days. I noticed that the one who only gave his snakes water once a month lived in a more humid area than the one who left it in all the time.
It’s not much to go off of, but I lived in a desert at the time, so I figured it’d be okay to leave the water in. It’s worked well for me! I’ve tried a number of different setups over the years and my experiences have confirmed they like it dry. I eventually tried taking the water bowl out until after my first regurge, but it didn’t help. Time and smaller meals did. That being said, I only have generic Mexcian rosys and Magdalena Plains, and Castaic localities, so I’m not sure if my observations would apply to larger coastal rosys or any rosys from different localities.
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I have a Maricopa Mountain Rosy and Gerold, the breeder told me he did the withholding water thing but he is in Arizona?
And @7snakes I can’t imagine living in the desert! Dry, hot days and cold nights! And scorpions! I‘ll take tarantulas any day!
So it could absolutely depend on the genetic? locality, the physical location of the snake, the living space of the snake, and the owner/breeder. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it! 
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I think this can be true of dogs and cats, even. More often, they’ll seek out grass or other plant matter to induce regurgitation, but as I recall… they seemed to act weird with water, too.
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It makes sense to me that the extra drinking would be due to them feeling unwell. I recall my kids’ pediatrician noting that very little ones with a tummy ache often want to drink more. I said I knew they want to nurse for comfort if they’re unwell. He specifically said that wasn’t what he meant. He meant that they hadn’t figured out the “hunger” and “discomfort” signals yet. I have no idea if that was merely his view or if he had any science behind it.
I haven’t noticed my corns doing this, but I have certainly noticed that regurges tend to be quite wet. I’ve also noticed that all of them come out for a long drink about 24 hours after a meal. When a regurge occurs (thankfully quite rare here), it’s typically around 2 days after feeding. I wonder if rosies do something similar, and if that contributes to this idea.
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