# Ball Pythons > General BP's >  Do snakes yawn?

## harper

Random question, I realize, but I'm a new BP owner and I've seen Smaug yawn twice...or at least that's exactly what it looks like.  It's adorable as anything, so I really hope it is just a yawn and not some sort of weird behavior I should be worried about.  So...do snakes yawn?

----------


## Kaorte

Well yeah, I don't think they are actually yawning though. Usually they do it after a meal to realign their jaws. 

Unless he is doing it constantly, its perfectly normal. Once or twice here and there, no big.

----------


## StormSerpent

Mine does whenever I change his enclosure or add something. He tends to do it while "exploring".

----------


## BiggBaddWolf

All the ones I have ever had do occasionally....

----------


## DustinB

Mine does every now and then when he comes out for the night or when I'm holding him. I always figured he was just stretching after being still for so long.

----------


## JLC

I don't know if they "yawn" for the same physiological reasons that we do...but they appear to.  Excluding the need to realign their jaw after eating. they will just randomly "yawn" from time to time.  Sometimes stress can cause it.  Constant yawning or gaping jaws is a serious indicator of a respiratory infection.

----------


## Aes_Sidhe

They do...
Besides of repositioning jaws after meal they do sometimes randomly 
Why i have no Idea...  :Cool: 
This is one time when i have camera in hand and luck and time to make a proof shot  :Wink:

----------

_AlexisFitzy_ (11-19-2014)

----------


## starquakes

My Snakey "yawns", too. It startled me the first time she did it when I was holding her. Lol.



@Darkwing_Angel; Lucky shot! I like how you can see the little teefs. :3

----------


## OhhWatALoser

i keep balls carpets and GTPs and all of them do it from time to time, aside from realigning the jaw, they seem to do it when i wake them up in the middle of the day just like we yawn in the morning. wether its just "waking up" or stretching i donno, but then again, don't we usually stretch when we yawn in the morning anyways?

i always think its cool when the GTPs do it, their teeth are huge.

----------


## katiadarling

Yep, snakes yawn!
Here's a picture of Bender yawning:

----------

_AlexisFitzy_ (11-19-2014),ssg150102 (08-13-2015)

----------


## k2l3d4

and the cat is cool with the snake and vica versa?

----------


## katiadarling

> and the cat is cool with the snake and vica versa?


Yep, everyone is cool with everyone else.  I don't ever leave the snake unattended with the other animals, but the cat really doesn't care too much.

----------


## harper

Smaug's only yawned twice (barring the several times he did it to realign his jaw after feeding), but I thought it was cool/odd, so I was just curious.

It's nice to see that the cat and the snake are cool with each other.  I was holding one of my cats when he spotted Smaug moving around in his tank, and I still have scratches on my arm because poor Max jumped out of my arms and hit the floor running.

----------


## RoyalGuardian

all snakes gape to realign their jaws. <_< Though people say its not for a psychological reason I beg to differ. I have seen Cali do it when she feels relaxed or tired. She will "yawn" then rest her little head and for lack of a better term slither into slumber. I know that their subconscious is deeper than most give them credit for because I myself have made both my snakes yawn by yawning at one point or another!

----------

KingWheatley (10-06-2016)

----------


## Brooke360

> Mine does whenever I change his enclosure or add something. He tends to do it while "exploring".


What they're doing is opening their mouth so that they can smell their surroundings more. It's the same curiosity that makes them stick out their tongue. Nothing weird about it.

----------


## KMG

Thread from the dead.
 :Tombstone:  :Tombstone:  :Tombstone:  :Tombstone:

----------


## Tarasaurus

I just got my first bp last week Wednesday, and he yawned twice, while we were holding him the first 2 days. It kinda startled me at first, but it was so cute! Wish I could've had a camera ready  :Razz:

----------


## Shamri

Now you know: always have a camera ready! That's the second most important lesson of all.the first, of course, is to have a temp regulator on your UTH.  :Smile:

----------

Tarasaurus (11-19-2014)

----------


## cutey6502

hello! I know that post from six years ago but i was wondering what morph your snake was. I got my snake, Aaexa, from a reptile shop and they weren't 100% sure what she was. My Aaexa looks exactly like Bender thank you so much!

----------


## cutey6502

> Yep, snakes yawn!
> Here's a picture of Bender yawning:


hello i was just wondering what morph Bender is. my snake Aaexa bought from a place but they didn't know what morph she was and they look almost identical. thank you!

----------

