Why do snakes yawn?

[Minkness]

Other than resetting their jaw after a feed, why would a snake yawn?

I ask because I was chillin' with my new BP tonight, who hasn't taken a meal yet, and he was coiled around my hand relaxing, head resting on me. Then out of nowhere he slowly lifted his head, gave a huuuuge yawn, then set his head down again.

Anyone else experience this?

[Albert Clark]

All the time! I'm not exactly sure but I believe it is reflexive and has something to do with them clearing their airway.

[Jim Smith]

It is often associated with eating and in those cases, they are "resetting" their lower jaws which are dislocated during the eating process.

[Albert Clark]

Also, when crawling around and pressing their faces and mouths against objects the jaws can become misaligned causing a yawn to realign.

[Pareeeee]

They usually yawn to realign their jaws.

I yawn when I talk about yawning. Like I just did right now...

[Minkness]

Lol Pareeeee.

Interesting that he just yawned out of nowhere then. It was really cute and neat though to see him do it.

Is it a sign that he's relaxed as well? Like, a snake wouldn't yawn if they were stressed out, would they?

[Aaron_S]

Lol Pareeeee.

Interesting that he just yawned out of nowhere then. It was really cute and neat though to see him do it.

Is it a sign that he's relaxed as well? Like, a snake wouldn't yawn if they were stressed out, would they?

I'm going to be to the point as I don't have much time so don't take offense please.

If it's relaxed it would be eating for you. Ball pythons are pretty simple when it comes to this. No stress = eating.

I'm sure it'll eat for you soon.

[Minkness]

Thanks for that insite, but if it's not that he's relaxed, why would he yawn out of nowhere? He was chilling for quite a while, not bumping his head on anything, ect.

[Aaron_S]

Thanks for that insite, but if it's not that he's relaxed, why would he yawn out of nowhere? He was chilling for quite a while, not bumping his head on anything, ect.

Maybe the same reason we yawn. Extra oxygen to the brain to "wake up".

That's my only guess.

[Albert Clark]

IMO, it really is reflexive, and happens intermittently. Peace.

[Minkness]

Oh, so it could be needing oxygen like us, or maybe he rubbed his face at some point and just decided to fix his jaw at that moment......Makes sense....Thanks for the info!

Still such a newblet lol

[prairiepanda]

Could also be similar to how humans sometimes crack their knuckles, or stretch their arms in weird ways to relieve stresses in the back. Maybe snakes just want to stretch their muscles or work out tired spots in their jaws.

[FWK]

... You are all missing the obvious, the snake was clearly trying to figure out if it could open its mouth wide enough to swallow you yet. It determined it had some growing still to do. You are safe for now :laugh:

On a more serious note, we don't even seem to know why we yawn. When I read this thread it popped into my head that we yawned to balance the pressures in our inner ear, but a quick google search suggests we yawn to regulate the temperatures in our brain. Thermoregulation. And here I thought that was a coldblooded thing.

[millertime89]

IMO, it really is reflexive, and happens intermittently. Peace.

Oh, so it could be needing oxygen like us, or maybe he rubbed his face at some point and just decided to fix his jaw at that moment......Makes sense....Thanks for the info!

Still such a newblet lol

Could also be similar to how humans sometimes crack their knuckles, or stretch their arms in weird ways to relieve stresses in the back. Maybe snakes just want to stretch their muscles or work out tired spots in their jaws.

The above are all pretty much the assumed reasons, (along with doing it after eating to realign the jaw) but ultimately we can't say for sure one way or another with each instance (although after eating is pretty obvious).

... You are all missing the obvious, the snake was clearly trying to figure out if it could open its mouth wide enough to swallow you yet. It determined it had some growing still to do. You are safe for now :laugh:

Best. Response. Yet. Loved it!

[Minkness]

Lol FWK!

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

[sharthun]

Boredom? :p

[D Grade]

When snakes yawn after a meal or after a strike, they are resetting their jaw. Front fanged hots also do this to reposition/reset their fangs. If you've watched vids (especially during live feeds) of hots with large front fangs like a Gaboon Viper or nearly all Crotalus/Rattlesnake species, they will quite often yawn after detecting prey and/or immediately after a strike to reset their fangs. And like all other snakes, they do yawn after feeding to reset their lower jaw as well.

If a snake is not front fanged venomous and it hasn't eaten recently, then I would be worried about a respiratory issue.

[prairiepanda]

The above are all pretty much the assumed reasons, (along with doing it after eating to realign the jaw) but ultimately we can't say for sure one way or another with each instance (although after eating is pretty obvious).

They're not assumed(at least not by me; maybe others assume them to be correct?), they're hypothesized. I think they're all fairly reasonable hypotheses based on what little evidence we have to go by.

Thermoregulation. And here I thought that was a coldblooded thing.

All mammals thermoregulate, we just do it differently ;) Sweating, panting, and shivering are pretty important examples of this, but we have other methods too.

[FWK]

All mammals thermoregulate, we just do it differently ;) Sweating, panting, and shivering are pretty important examples of this, but we have other methods too.

Obviously. The whole post was in jest, though I was unaware of this particular mechanism (yawning as a form of thermoregulation) prior to satisfying my curiosity on the subject after reading this thread.

[Minkness]

D Grade....don't scare me about a respiratory infection unless you REALLY believe that may be the case.....now I need to know all other symptoms of this so i can stress out and look for them if he has them x.x

[D Grade]

D Grade....don't scare me about a respiratory infection unless you REALLY believe that may be the case.....now I need to know all other symptoms of this so i can stress out and look for them if he has them x.x

Not trying to scare you, but if a snake is yawning frequently with no relation to feeding, then there is most likely a respiratory issue. For respiratory issues, there is too much or too little humidity (depending on the species) or there is a deeper problem.

[Minkness]

Well, I wouldn't say it's often. Only saw him do it once.

[D Grade]

I wouldn't worry about it too much then, Mink. :)

[jjhill001]

He's tired of your crap that's why. Lol JK.

[drumcrush]

got a video of mrs B. yawning a llittle while back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7Em5rD65Cg