Weird Behavior - Nibbles

[KingWheatley]

I had him out while I wait for his meal to thaw... and so he is snuggled up on my chest like normal, then he starts moving around. He starts touching his face with his snoot, and I had to close my eye because he poked it.

When I open it again he has his mouth open against my cheek. Not biting down at all, but just like that.

Obviously I move him away from my face, thinking he might be hungry. He does the exact same thing with my finger.

No striking. No coiling. He just opened his mouth and just lazily poked my finger with his snoot. This particular instance resulted in my rather tiny finger actually going between his jaws and his teeth caught on my skin a bit, but again, he didn't bite down and backed of a moment and did it again.

Even though I think this is adorable and it is making me laugh, it's a very strange behavior I can't explain. And it could be some underlying reason. I'm going to see if I can get a video of it and post it, but I'm not sure if he will do it again.


Herp Derp

[KingWheatley]

He took the mouse with a very heavy food strike, so I'm wondering if he was anticipating the meal and that was a snake's equivalent of salivating?

(As far as unintentional and uncontrollable reflexes go.)


Herp Derp

[rabernet]

I would watch that behavior - it could indicate a respiratory infection. In my experience, ball pythons don't hold their mouth open in that manner unless they are having difficulty breathing through their nose. Since they are unable to cough (no diaphram), they will from time to time open their mouths slightly to breath better.

Given all the handling it seems that he gets, stress and no consistent temps (in and out of the enclosure often) often contribute to respiratory infections.

[Sallos]

Maybe he smelled dinner and was trying to see if you'd fit in his mouth?

[redshepherd]

A partially opened mouth when snake mouths should not be open (aka not yawning or eating) usually means respiratory infection.

[PythonBabes]

Watch out for things like wheezing/clicking noises while breathing and mucus in/around his mouth. Maybe not so much handling, if he does have a respiratory infection, stress is only going to make it worse.

[Yzmasmom]

Not hijack, but holding them can cause a RI? from being out of the temps? Now I'm afraid to hold mine! we do 3-4 times a week for maybe half an hour. (bit longer when cleaning tank.)

[redshepherd]

Not hijack, but holding them can cause a RI? from being out of the temps? Now I'm afraid to hold mine! we do 3-4 times a week for maybe half an hour. (bit longer when cleaning tank.)

Not just holding, you can hold! It's caused by too low temps for too long, too high humidity with too little air flow, or too low humidity. Maybe combined with too frequent or too lengthy handling (maybe the environment outside the enclosure isn't as suitable), causes stress, which causes a poor immune system, which makes the animal more susceptible to infections or illness than it was before. Like people and other animals, stress worsens the immune system too. So it could be a combo of these things, all of these things, or just one...

KingWheatley's snake isn't a for sure respiratory infection yet since we're just talking online, but it sounds likely? Just watch for his mouth staying open again like that, bubbles in his mouth, any audible sounds when breathing, and will need a vet if those.

[KingWheatley]

I increased the heat in his tank and checked his mouth. His gums are light pink and I don't see any bubbling. However I do hear clicking when I hold his nose close to my ear.... but I have to be very close. Maybe at my friend's house he was in lower temps. Or the event when he got lost is catching up on him? Would RI take that long to set in?


Herp Derp

[rabernet]

I increased the heat in his tank and checked his mouth. His gums are light pink and I don't see any bubbling. However I do hear clicking when I hold his nose close to my ear.... but I have to be very close. Maybe at my friend's house he was in lower temps. Or the event when he got lost is catching up on him? Would RI take that long to set in?


Herp Derp

Yes it can, or it could be he's had one, but now it's progressing where you are finally seeing symptoms. From what I've read of his adventures since you got him, he's had a pretty stressful first few months. That stress, as well as what seems to be excessive handling, can certainly contribute to the onset of a RI.