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Do snakes yawn?

A

ashleigh_k

New member
Recently it seems that every time I'm handling Polly she stops suddenly and opens her mouth wide at a 90 degree angle. She keeps it that way for a few seconds and closes it and returns to sliding around me. I haven't seen her do this in her viv...is she just yawning?
 
does she do this after feeding? if so, it's not technically a "yawn," but mroeso resetting her jaw after stretching it open so wide. if she does, in fact, only do this after eating, you should be aware that you shouldn't handle a snake for AT LEAST 48 hours after they have been fed, it can cause them to regurgitate their meal, which is quite problematic.

if your snake is yawning at random times, and not just after eating, then i have no idea what could be happening. maybe someone else knows?
 
I never handle her for at least 72 hours after she's eaten. She'll do this for about 3 or 4 times while she's being handled. She opens quite wide and reamins like that for about 8 to 10 seconds. I thought it was a little weird...
 
My Rubes yawns. She's only done it twice in my presence, but it's definately a yawn. Completely unrelated to feeding in both cases.
 
Just how often is she "yawning?" That sort of behavior can be caused by a respiratory problem. If the snake has mucus or pieces of a past shed blocking her nostrils, she'll be inclined to open her mouth to breathe. My first snake was purchased from a pet store and turned out to be ill. The vet diagnosed her with a respiratory infection and a mouth ulcer. She had quite a few other symptoms later on but in the beginning, all I noticed was her tendency to open and close her mouth a lot. You'll want to pay special attention to her breathing to make sure you don't hear any popping or crackling noises, especially when her mouth is open. Also watch for any bubbling around her nose.
 
Snakes do yawn even when it is unrelated to feeding. The jaws are hinged and may need "reseting" from time to time.
However, if your little snake does keep her mouth open I would advise trying to take a picture with flash in order to check the oral cavity. Mouth rot is a possibility, so is respiratory infection.
It's not necessarily the case so there's no need to feel stressed out, also, corns are rather hardy.
I had to deal with mouth rot(and successfully treated) on a GTP(Green Tree Python) and those are rather sensitive animals.
I noticed her yawning a lot so I took a picture. I circled the problematic areas for comparison purposes should you need it:
DSCN0959-1.jpg


If your snakes continues to yawn very frequently and for long periods of time, I would suggest going to see a Vet that practices Reptilian medicine. If you don't know such a vet- try and see if you can contact an experienced snake keeper.
 
My corn yawns once or twice a day, normally when shes just come out of her hide ( after a sleep ).She's always done this since i bought her in May 07, and she is fit an healthy.
 
She actually ended up shedding a couple days later, and hasn't 'yawned' since...thanks for the advice! If I see her doing it more, i'll for sure take her to a vet.
 
I've caught the tail end of a yawn once. I would really like to see it again and I'd even more so like to get a picture. I wonder how often snakes do this. I went to the north american reptile show in Arlington, Tx a few months ago and there were snakes yawning all over the place (but there were tons of snakes so yawn'ers to non-yawn'ers was low). I wonder how many times it happens while our backs are turned...
 
That's interesting...I have never seen any of my snakes yawn...but at the last reptile show I attended we saw several snakes yawning at various times, too. Weird.
 
Gralena said:
That's interesting...I have never seen any of my snakes yawn...but at the last reptile show I attended we saw several snakes yawning at various times, too. Weird.
Click to expand...

Crazy to think about! I wonder why that is... Maybe because there are so many snakes on display for us to see, it seems like a lot. Interesting. I wonder if certain surroundings make them "yawn" as well?

Today was feeding day for Sampson. I've watched and watched but so far, no yawn. I do think that the yawning occurs though. Corns do some crazy things sometimes. I mist the viv down when it's hot to provide a change in humidity and mimic (to a small degree) weather. After I'm done, he licks and drinks from the walls and off the leaves—even if he's right next to the water dish. On another note:idea:, I've also never seen my snake soak in the water dish. I hear about it, but it hasn't ever happened—that I've seen...
 
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