diff --git a/src/sentry/api/handlers.py b/src/sentry/api/handlers.py
index 8227489ec0e3b5..fed7e1d0d62efa 100644
--- a/src/sentry/api/handlers.py
+++ b/src/sentry/api/handlers.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import sentry_sdk
 from rest_framework.exceptions import Throttled
 from rest_framework.views import exception_handler
 
@@ -6,8 +7,16 @@
 
 def custom_exception_handler(exc, context):
     if isinstance(exc, RateLimitExceeded):
-        # If Snuba throws a RateLimitExceeded then it'll likely be available
-        # after another second.
-        exc = Throttled(wait=1)
+        # capture the rate limited exception so we can see it in Sentry
+        with sentry_sdk.new_scope() as scope:
+            scope.fingerprint = ["snuba-api-rate-limit-exceeded"]
+            sentry_sdk.capture_exception(
+                exc,
+                level="warning",
+            )
+        # let the client know that they've been rate limited with details
+        exc = Throttled(
+            detail="Rate limit exceeded. Please try your query with a smaller date range or fewer projects."
+        )
 
     return exception_handler(exc, context)
diff --git a/tests/sentry/api/test_handlers.py b/tests/sentry/api/test_handlers.py
index e01799f722f317..75b94ad3fe28e0 100644
--- a/tests/sentry/api/test_handlers.py
+++ b/tests/sentry/api/test_handlers.py
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@ class RateLimitedEndpoint(Endpoint):
     permission_classes = (AllowAny,)
 
     def get(self, request):
-        raise RateLimitExceeded()
+        raise RateLimitExceeded(
+            "Rate limit exceeded. Please try your query with a smaller date range or fewer projects."
+        )
 
 
 urlpatterns = [re_path(r"^/$", RateLimitedEndpoint.as_view(), name="sentry-test")]
@@ -28,4 +30,7 @@ def test_simple(self):
         resp = self.get_response()
         assert resp.status_code == 429
 
-        assert resp.data["detail"] == "Request was throttled. Expected available in 1 second."
+        assert (
+            resp.data["detail"]
+            == "Rate limit exceeded. Please try your query with a smaller date range or fewer projects."
+        )