Yawning???

[devil_dog]

Hello This is my first post here. So my story first i guess. I have wanted a ball python my whole life, but my mom would never let me get one. I turned 18 joined the marine corps and after about a year got to my duty station and got a house. I was extremely excited to finally be able to get one. Then my wife dropped a bomb and said NO!!!! Finally(after alot of begging) she said yes! Now i am the proud owner of Kaia my 2 year old ball python. When i got her she was very aggressive and she bit me the first night i had her and my wife freaked out and almost made me get rid of her. After a few weeks of daily handlings she is now an amazing snake! I can handle her now with no worries of being bit. She was also very skinny and the previous owner said it had been awhile since she ate. When i brought her home her cage was absolutely disgusting! I cleaned it out and immediately rushed out and got her a small rat. She is an amazing feeder she will only eat live small female rats! Thats it she won't even touch a male! And it has to be live or she just looks at me almost as if to say "Do you think I am stupid?" My question is do ball pythons yawn? It may be a stupid question but i want to know because sometimes when i am "playing" with her she opens her mouth very wide. Is she yawning or is it her trying to scare me into leaving her alone she only does it right when i take her out and after that she just climbs all over me!

[anthrpicdecadnce]

Oh, balls do it all the time. Why? No one knows...

oh, and welcome to BP ^_^

[xdeus]

Yes, snakes will "yawn" for a variety of reasons. Quite often they will yawn after eating in order to realign their jaw. They also seem to yawn occasionally for unknown reasons... perhaps for the same reason we yawn.

However, sometimes they will yawn frequently because they have a respiratory infection and they are trying to get more air into their lung. If you suspect this is the case, I would recommend that you get your snake to a vet ASAP as this condition can be fatal. You can also look for other signs of a URI such as drooling, keeping their neck stretched up, and bubbles coming out of their mouth.

[Kennyxemerson]

haha yeah dude, yawning is completely normal.
just make sure they aren't making any weird noises or anything
mine yawn all the time so you're fine. welcome to bp.net

[Kennyxemerson]

yeah that what i was trying to say about the noises and other symptoms.
make sure your snake doesnt have RI that sucks.

[bearhart]

Hello This is my first post here. So my story first i guess. I have wanted a ball python my whole life, but my mom would never let me get one. I turned 18 joined the marine corps and after about a year got to my duty station and got a house. I was extremely excited to finally be able to get one. Then my wife dropped a bomb and said NO!!!! Finally(after alot of begging) she said yes! Now i am the proud owner of Kaia my 2 year old ball python. When i got her she was very aggressive and she bit me the first night i had her and my wife freaked out and almost made me get rid of her. After a few weeks of daily handlings she is now an amazing snake! I can handle her now with no worries of being bit. She was also very skinny and the previous owner said it had been awhile since she ate. When i brought her home her cage was absolutely disgusting! I cleaned it out and immediately rushed out and got her a small rat. She is an amazing feeder she will only eat live small female rats! Thats it she won't even touch a male! And it has to be live or she just looks at me almost as if to say "Do you think I am stupid?" My question is do ball pythons yawn? It may be a stupid question but i want to know because sometimes when i am "playing" with her she opens her mouth very wide. Is she yawning or is it her trying to scare me into leaving her alone she only does it right when i take her out and after that she just climbs all over me!

I used to think mine was just a "yawner". He did it ever since I got him. Eventually, he started this mouth wiping thing. It turned out he was showing symptoms of a mild RI. These things can persist at a low level for a long time in a snake. Since a course of antibiotics and making sure that things we plenty warm in his cage, I rarely see him yawn. He used to yawn a few times every handling. Considering that your previous owner's care was questionable I would recommend the following:

1) Get him a checkup at the vet. Infections cause excessive mucous and snakes can't just swallow it like we can - they sort of drown on it (or something) and have to do these weird things to deal with it. If you have an exotics store around that is run by people that have experience and care about the animals you might be able to get some experienced eyes on your snake for free (if you shop there, of course). usually though the stores are dodgy so a good vet is probably best. Just set up an appointment for a wellness visit and express concern that there might be an infection.

2) Make sure that your snake is warm enough. I used to have an overly warm hide but the rest of the cage was very cool. I think that was my only saving grace because once my brought my warm side temp down he started having troubles. I eventually realized that only a few inches from the warm side hide it was 75d. I put cork around 3 sides of the tank and covered most of the top and added an additional small UTH to the cool side get a good ambient temp that was above 80d everywhere. I use three temp readings which (IMO) is barely adequate. I think the recommended is four. Make sure you are using a rheostat or thermostat to control the temperatures.

[bearhart]

haha yeah dude, yawning is completely normal.
just make sure they aren't making any weird noises or anything
mine yawn all the time so you're fine. welcome to bp.net

I have to disagree with that. You only start hearing weird noises when they are way down the road and practically drowning in mucous. Everybody I've talked to says that BP's are good at hiding sickness and by the time you start seeing any really obvious symptoms, things will be serious. I'm not saying your snakes are sick but I really think its rash to say "it's totally normal - my snakes yawn all the time".

[devil_dog]

I thank you all very much! I got her to the vet today and he said she is fine! Can never be to cautious, right? Again thank you all very much! I am already looking forward to getting a red tail! That is as soon as i can talk my wife into it! Does anybody know any tricks to talk an unwavering woman into something? HAHA

[JLC]

I thank you all very much! I got her to the vet today and he said she is fine! Can never be to cautious, right? Again thank you all very much! I am already looking forward to getting a red tail! That is as soon as i can talk my wife into it! Does anybody know any tricks to talk an unwavering woman into something? HAHA

Welcome to BP.net!

The yawning question was addressed already, but I can certainly address the "reluctant spouse" question with authority. My husband would be happy to never have a snake within a mile of his house.

The key is patience, communication, and understanding. Not so much getting her to understand you (although that's part of it) but for you to try and understand her. WHY doesn't she want a pet snake or two? What is she afraid of? For instance...my husband isn't afraid of snakes, but he's afraid of his home turning into a stinky, weirdo zoo with exotic animals on every available surface. (His opinion, not mine!!!) And once you have thoroughly talked out the issues and you truly understand where she is coming from...then you can start to take steps to alleviate her fears/concerns.

None of this happens overnight. It's taken my husband and I literally years to come to a mutual, agreeable understanding about exotic pets in the house. But we never would have gotten there if we didn't talk things through, and if I didn't completely respect his feelings in the matter, even if I don't relate to them.

[Kaaa]

CANDIES worked with my wife. After i bought my second and third Ball pythons (with out asking). She forgave me after about 1 LG bag of Tootsie Rolls, and another of Jelly Bellies!!! LOL!!!