Do pythons yawn?

[Lesa]

On Tuesday we were at Australia Zoo. My kids and I were waiting for friends near 'Lily' the 7m reticulated python. While we were standing there she yawned?? Now I didn't have my camera ready and I was so busy being amazed at the size of her open mouth that I didn't get it out in time. It was amazing!!! When her mouth was wide open like that you can see how she could swallow such large prey. She had it open for a good 10 seconds or more. So - was she yawning or was it something else?

 

[Rosemary]

Pythons yawn, so she could have been yawning or maybe just stretching her jaws

 

[norris]

My spotteds "yawn" after feeding to rearrange their jaws. I don't know if they yawn because their tired though

 

[Ozzie Python]

I see my snakes yawn every now and then. I don't know if it is an actual yawn or the are just putting their jaw in place or what. I don't see any reason why they couldn't yawn. Am sure someone here will know all about it.

 

[warren63]

I assume they must as i have seen my geckos yawn

 

[norris]

my archer fish yawn.

 

[dailyskin]

Baby Noodle yawns - you can see all his teeth, very gorgeous!

 

[Miss Morph-lette]

I've seen them yawn after eating, when the start shedding (to get it going) and at other random times too. I love seeing it... it just looks nasty how big they can get their mouths! Another good time to see how big their mouths are and how much they'd hurt if they got you is when you walk past the cages and they strike at the glass. Then you can see the saliva on the glass and if you're lucky, a tooth or two!

 

[Esmeralda]

yeah I noticed my stimmy 'yawn' the other day after her feed lol at first i was wrried she couldn't get her jaw back in place but after a few 'yawns she was happy and her belly was full quite cool.

 

[cockney red]

Yes.:?

 

[ando611]

Can they get the hiccups too?

 

[njlocksmith]

yes i have seen mine yawn

 

[norris]

But was it a tired induced yawn?

 

[llasher]

I have seen all my snakes yawn after a feed and my stimmie female sometimes sticks her head out of the hide and yawns. SOmeone here had a photo of a yawn but I never have a camera ready! I always thought the post feed yawns were part of the peristaltic process to kind of reflect a wave of muscle tone down the gut to force the feed down further. Or maybe they are for rearticulating the jaw. The other theory I had was it was some sort of smelling behaviour as I've seen some kind of yawn when there is rat in the air, but what would I know.

 

[dpeica]

Bandy bandy yawning..

 

[Rocky]

Yeah they yawn, although i don't have one, i saw alot of them at the expo last year, saw one yawn, they look amazing when they do it.

 

[Crazy_Snake08]

Interesting topic to discuss. I may burst some bubbles here so I'm sorry, but I'm only here for the disscussion...

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics and qualities to nonhuman beings, inanimate objects, or natural or supernatural phenomena.

It is a common and seemingly natural tendency for humans to perceive nonhuman animals or inanimate objects as having human characteristics, one which some suggest provides a window into the way in which humans perceive themselves. Common examples of this tendency include naming cars or begging machines to work.

The classic example we're talking about here is the snake yawning. We can perceive the snake yawning cause it opens it mouth wide jsut like we do when we're tired. We're giving the snake the quality of being tired (because of its yawning).

From what I've read and heard, the snake "yawning" is possibly to re-arrange their lower jaw that has jsut been "dislocated" following a feed. The front of the jaw is not joined by a bone to bone but has an elastic connective tissue and therefore would need re-arrangement to get back into place. You could argue of course that some snakes yawn when they haven't even eaten...not sure on that one???? COuld be to relax, prepare for a feed???

I guess all to their own. I must admit that even as I'm writing on the topic that I believe snakes do not yawn, I'm a hypocrit in my own writing and beliefs, but aren't we all!!!

-matthew

 

[mrmikk]

Did you yawn after the snake yawned? If you did then it must have yawned!

 

[Crazy_Snake08]

I didn't yawn afterwards??? Yawning or not???

 

[rachelp]

Mammals are the only ones that yawn due to being tired.... different theories about this (getting more oxygen to brain, equalising inner ears and others). Other animals can yawn to bare their teeth and frighten would-be predators (some primates, fish, rodents). Snakes may 'yawn' as a response to predators I don't know. But generall people think 'yawn' mainly to reset their jaws. Ours does this aafter lmost every time he eats and pretty much only then.