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Should I be concerned

R

RicardoCruz005

New member
A few days ago, I saw my snake " Yawn " for the first time. It happened 3-4 days after he was last fed, so I'm sure it wasn't to re-align his jaw. Then I saw him yaw the next day again, and I saw him yawn a third time yet again today. He doesn't leave his mouth hanging open or anything, he just opens it very widely, then closes it, sometimes shifting it side-to-side a little bit. This just started occuring and I've never seen him do it before. I've heard this could be a sign of a respiratory infection, but he doesn't have any mucus on the side of his mouth, or coming out of his nose. He's also still active, and moves around his cage, and has never regurged. He appears healthy in every aspect other than the yawning that recently started. Do I need to take him to a vet, or is this normal?
 
It's perfectly normal- if his oral cavity is clear of any Aspen bedding or similiar things that may have gotten in there and the tissue seems healthy- all is well and you have nothing to worry about.
 
Kokopelli said:
It's perfectly normal- if his oral cavity is clear of any Aspen bedding or similiar things that may have gotten in there and the tissue seems healthy- all is well and you have nothing to worry about.
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Yeah, when I saw his mouth open it didn't appear to be infected or have anything wrong with it, although it was very quick so I can't say for sure of course. Its not the act of him doing it that bothers me, its that he just started 3 days ago after not doing it for the entire year I've had him, you know? I would assume if he was naturally a " Yawner " he would've done it much sooner than 3 days ago.
 
Snakes are not robots, it's possible that he didn't manage to re-align his jaw properly and had to go through "several attempts".
As long as the oral cavity is okay- he's okay.
If you want to be sure, go see a vet, but it's quite unnecessary. If you feel confident enough, open his mouth and check it- or even better, have him open his mouth and photograph it. That's the best way to examine him without keeping his mouth open for a long period of time.
 
Kokopelli said:
Snakes are not robots, it's possible that he didn't manage to re-align his jaw properly and had to go through "several attempts".
As long as the oral cavity is okay- he's okay.
If you want to be sure, go see a vet, but it's quite unnecessary. If you feel confident enough, open his mouth and check it- or even better, have him open his mouth and photograph it. That's the best way to examine him without keeping his mouth open for a long period of time.
Click to expand...

Over the course of 3 days, 4 days after the actual meal? Seems unlikely to me. How would I go about opening my snakes mouth correctly? Is there a method? I don't want to hurt him. In any case, I'm not going to take him to a vet unless he shows signs of illness, I just wanted to ask other snake owners opinion and advice to be on the safe side of things. Everyone so far has told me not to worry, so I suppose thats a good thing :)
 
RicardoCruz005 said:
Over the course of 3 days, 4 days after the actual meal? Seems unlikely to me. How would I go about opening my snakes mouth correctly? Is there a method? I don't want to hurt him. In any case, I'm not going to take him to a vet unless he shows signs of illness, I just wanted to ask other snake owners opinion and advice to be on the safe side of things. Everyone so far has told me not to worry, so I suppose thats a good thing :)
Click to expand...

look, as several people told you, it's not a cause for concern- every reply you make however tries to contradict that. And then you say you won't go see a vet so...
I really am not quite sure what you want mate :)
If the snake's oral cavity is clear- the only reason for yawning is adjustment of the jaws. You contradict that as well.

so... clue me in as to what sort of answer you want? :cheers:
 
Hello RicardoCruz,
Yeah the first few times you see a snake yawn it is rather bizzare, so I can understand where you are coming from in your worry. However, it IS entirely normal and doesnt seem to be related to feeding times. One of my snakes ate Nov 1, and he yawned today. He also yawned after he ate as well. Its possible you didnt SEE your snake yawning prior.

Snakes yawn. Its OK. Its likely what your guy is doing, and its really OK. But if you are unsure, a vet visit may make you feel better than our reassurances.

Sincerely,
Susan
 
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