Were you certain that you just heard a snake meow? I thought I also heard that a few hours ago and started doing some research online. In this article, I’ll share the answer I’ve found and then I’ll answer related questions that I had after finding the answer to the main question, so make sure you keep on reading.
Can snakes meow? Snakes cannot make meow sounds because they don’t have vocal cords. They can, however, hiss, and if you’re certain you heard a meow sound then it can also be that the snake is farting, that it is your cat, or that it is the sound of the prey it’s devouring.
Something or someone else is making the meow sound
It’s your cat
This one is quite obvious but if you have both a snake and a cat then it can be that your cat is just making those sounds and that you’re thinking it was your snake. If you’re still not sure then keep a closer eye on your snake, and see if it happens again.
It can be its prey
Snakes eat all kinds of prey, and when they’re getting devoured by the snake you can be sure that sometimes some weird noises will be coming your way. Here I’m not talking about a snake eating a cat or something but for example, a snake eating a frog. I found a pet snake owner online that shared his story about giving his pet snake a frog for dinner and hearing cat-like meowing sounds coming from the snake’s direction.
It’s just farting
This option is the most likely as farts can sound different every time and it can therefore be mistaken as a meowing sound.
Can hognose snakes meow?
Just like any other snake species out there, hognose snakes can also not make any meowing sounds because they don’t have any vocal cords. There are, however, sounds that they can produce without having vocal cords like hissing sounds.
Further along in this article, I’ll cover all the sounds that snakes make so make sure you keep on reading!
Are meowing sounds that snakes make signs of a respiratory infection?
Meowing sounds in snakes is not a sign of a respiratory infection. There are other sounds that the snake will produce when it has a respiratory infection. The snake will, for example, make clicking sounds and you’ll hear whistles (wheezing) coming out of the snake’s direction.
Besides these two sounds other aspects will be the snake having mucus in its mouth, nasal discharge (which is mucus coming out of its nose), a loss of appetite, a lack of energy, or it may look exhausted, it may make gurgling sounds, or it may be breathing with its mouth open.
What does a snake fart sound like?
People have different opinions about what snake farts sound like but a good explanation I’ve found was that the farts sound similar to that of humans but then a lot more high-pitched and way less loud.
Now, I’ve heard snake farts on YouTube that are pretty loud though so they won’t always have to be high-pitched and not so loud.
Check out the video below if you want to hear for yourself what a farting snake sounds like.
What kind of sounds do snakes make?
Snakes can produce all kinds of sounds without having any vocal cords. Examples of the kind of sounds they can make are:
- A growling sound.
- A hissing sound.
- A rattling sound.
- A sizzling sound.
- A raspy sound.
- A farting sound.
- A clicking sound.
- A popping sound.
- A squeaking sound.
- A puffing sound.
If you can’t get enough of learning about snakes then I encourage you to check out the “Snakes Category Page” which consists of various articles that give answers to snake-related questions.
Now you know what kind of sounds snakes make. But what do these sounds mean? In the next section, I’ll explain every sound to you.
A growling sound
Snakes make growling sounds to let other animals know that they are not pleased with the situation and will attack if the animal in question continues to come closer to the snake. So, you can see this as a warning sound.
A hissing sound
There are a lot of venomous snakes that can defend themselves very well because they are lethal species to many animals. But there are also a lot of snake species that don’t have this option and have to rely more on other aspects like, for example, the hissing sound. The hissing sound is used to intimidate its nearby enemy and it also makes the snake seem more dangerous to the nearby enemy than it is.
A rattling sound
Rattling sounds are commonly produced by rattlesnakes to warn their enemies that they’re nearby a rattlesnake and should not come closer.
A sizzling sound
This is a sound that snakes can produce by robbing sections of their body together. This sound is used by the snake to warn its enemies.
Check out the video below if you want to see how snakes do this.
A raspy sound
If you hear your pet snake making raspy sounds then you should surely go to a veterinarian because raspy sounds can indicate that the snake in question has a respiratory infection.
A farting sound
They produce like every other animal farting sounds. They do this because they need to get rid of air in their bodies or they even use their farts sometimes to scare predators away.
A clicking sound
Just like raspy sounds, clicking sounds are also indicators of a respiratory infection and when you hear the snake making these sounds then you should also see a veterinarian.
A popping sound
A popping sound within snakes can mean many different things. The snake may be in its shedding phase, or the snake can have a part of its shed still stuck on its nose which can produce this sound as well. Also, this could once again be early symptoms of a respiratory infection so if you don’t trust it then make sure you see a veterinarian.
A squeaking sound
A squeaking sound that’s produced by snakes indicates that the snake in question is happy.
A puffing sound
A puffing sound within snakes is very normal because they compress their lungs each time they climb which squeezes the air out.
Related questions
Do snakes make crying noises?
Snakes cannot make any crying noises because they don’t have any vocal cords. If you’re certain that you heard a crying noise though then you should keep a closer eye on the snake and see if it was the snake or something else.
Can snakes purr?
Online you do find some examples of snakes making purring-like sounds but that doesn’t mean that they intentionally make these sounds as there is no reason for the snake to make any cat-like purring sounds. A squeaking sound on the other hand is an indicator that the snake in question is happy.
Can snakes wheeze?
Snakes can make wheezing sounds. They produce these sounds whenever they’re about to shed. If, however, the snake keeps on making wheezing sounds after its shedding phase then you should see a veterinarian.
Conclusion
Now you know that snakes don’t make any meowing sounds because they don’t have any vocal cords. There are situations where it might seem that the snake is producing meowing sounds but when it is in reality either your cat that’s producing the sound, the farts of the snake, or it is the sounds of its prey that’s getting devoured by the snake.
