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Weird Yawning/Jaw Adjusting?

thelivingoddity

thelivingoddity

New member
My 3 year old Okeetee, Seamus, is a VERY very tame snake. He actually enjoys being handled-- he comes out of his hide when he knows I'm there and when I open the tank, he climbs onto me and happily sits inside my sweater.

The first couple weeks I had him, I noticed that he would open his mouth as wide as possible for no reason, then close it and go on about his business. I was led to believe by someone that it was a shedding behavior, that the skin on his head must have felt too tight. Sure enough Seamus shed, but now that it's been a week since he shed, he still does the weird mouth opening/yawning/jaw adjusting behavior! More frequently now than before his shed, even. It is never accompanied by any lunging or aggression. He had never bitten anyone and hasn't shown any sign of fear or aggression. He does this behavior before eating, and after, and a few days after, so that doesn't seem to have anything to do with it either.

Also, his favorite place to do this mouth stretching is in the front corner of his tank where his water dish is, though he did do it once when I had him out on my bed to explore. Again, it was not accompanied by any lunging or aggression... He just opened his mouth, facing away from me, then closed it.

Any ideas as to what this strange behavior might be?

Thanks all!!!
 
im not sure myself, but you might browse other threads for this topic, because im pretty sure ive seen this behavior questioned before on here, i just dont recall what the answers were. good luck.
 
I looked around, and apparently he's either yawning, adjusting his jaw, or just stretching his muscles. I guess it's common before shedding, after eating, or after drinking water. I just think it's ridiculous and adorable that he does it ALL THE TIME lol ^_^ He also seems particularly interested in me the last couple days, he hasn't slept under his substrate which he usually does, and he stares at me expectantly until I open the tank and then he climbs out onto me. Cute c:
 
Awe... my snow does that a lot! I have read somewhere that it might be an indicator that they are hungry. Piglet has never bitten anyone before either and doesnt do it in an aggressive mannar!
 
visceralrepulsion said:
im not sure myself, but you might browse other threads for this topic, because im pretty sure ive seen this behavior questioned before on here, i just dont recall what the answers were. good luck.
Click to expand...
That would've been me xD

beautifullywild77 said:
Awe... my snow does that a lot! I have read somewhere that it might be an indicator that they are hungry. Piglet has never bitten anyone before either and doesnt do it in an aggressive mannar!
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They are opportunistic eaters so they are always 'hungry'. They shouldn't be fed any more than usual just because they do this or are searching for food. I'm also pretty sure this behavior has nothing to do with being hungry.
Mine will even search for food just after being fed, i've even heard tales of snakes eating themselves to dead (possibly by regurge)

By my knowledge (keep in mind i just have 1 snake that is cared well for IMHO) they do this to stretch or adjust their jaw. Mine does this after feeding and sometimes after burrowing.
So nothing to worry about!

Hope i helped,
Atmox
 
Check his mouth for bubbles. This may be only yawning, but if he has bubbles or a discoloration it could be a respiratory infection.
 
It gives you a good opportunity to see the inside of his mouth, to see that it is healthy and such. Not sure what to look for myself, but presumably "normal" color and no build up or anything. I'd rather like to do that just to check, but have no good way of going about it.
 
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