Introduction and Quick Question

Hello All,

I found this forum while doing some research, and it really seems to be the best one on the net.

About 5 years ago I was dating a girl who owned a 4 year old female BP. She traveled a lot, and I got my introduction to BP's by snake sitting for her. During that time I found out how great they really are. I wanted to get one then, but being in the military and deploying for a year at a time made that impossible.

Flash forward 5 years, and I'm now retired from the Air Force and living in one place, and without the long trips to the sandbox. Soooooo, this weekend I took the plunge and brought home my new room mate. He's a young normal named Bacchaus.

I brought him home Sat night and put him in his enclosure. He started to do the usuall BP new cage behavior....climbed the humidity guage, tested the screen cover, stuck his nose in the water dish, tested the screen cover again, then promptly balled up between the warm side hide and the glass. By Sun morning, he was inside the warm side hide, and I figured he was getting ready to settle in. I was a little surprised to see him VERY active Sun evening right after sundown. I know that is the active time of the day for BP's, but I figured he'd hunker down in the hide for several days or so. He was active for about an hour before he went back into the hide. This evening, he did it again. He actually seems to be very comfy in his new environment. So far, I haven't disturbed him at all, and was going to wait the recommended week before trying to feed him, but he seems to be getting used to the tank a lot faster than I thought he would. I'm going to give him another day and then offer food for the first time on Wed evening (his last meal with the breeder was a f/t fuzzy, 4 days ago)...I'll let you know how that goes. I fed my old GF's snake many times, and never freaked out when she refused to eat, but I'm still a little nervous about feeding this little guy. I just hope he's a good eater.

Quick question; What's with the yawning? He seems to do it right after he becomes active, and then usually before he goes into the hide. My GF's snake used to do the same behavior. Is this a BP thing, or a snake thing?

I look forward to becoming a regular here:D

First let me start by saying thank you for serving our country!!! Seems like your snake is settling in nicely. You could try to feed him at any time and sounds like he would eat right away. Sorry can't help you with the yawning thing.

While there isn't a definite answer to the yawning question I can throw you a few possibilities. Sometimes if the snake has an RI (Respiratory Infection) they will do that to breathe properly. The yawning would also come with wheezing, and fluid coming from the snakes nostrils; but I doubt it's that. More than likely the snake is just yawning to get a better smell of his environment. They smell by taking particles from the air (usually with their tongue) and placing them in the jacobsens organ located in the roof of their mouth. They can also do this by yawning so thats probably what your seeing him do. And they also yawn to re-aligne their jaw.