Why do crocodiles sit there with their mouths open all the time?

Question

Why do crocodiles sit there with their mouths open all the time?

Answer 1

It helps then thermoregulate.  They bask in the sun to heat up, and if they ever overheat they sit with their mouths open to cool down.

Answer 2

i would think it's so they cool down just like a dog sticks it's tongue out. =)

Answer 3

My uncle owns a zoo and i though i work with tigers the time we spent with Steve Irwin we found crocodile do it to thermoregulate. Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries

Answer 4

The ones you have seen must all be female.

Answer 5

to cool down

Answer 6

To absorbs heat when they felt too cold. Also some birds will come and clean up their teeth.

Answer 7

Crocodiles, like all reptiles, have a skin covered in scales.  This skin is designed to hold IN moisture, and to lessen heat loss.  They are ectothermic (cold blooded) and therefore derive their body temperature from the surrounding air.  As a result, they bring their temperature up by basking in the sun or absorbing it from warmed surfaces like rocks.  They do not have sweat glands.

If a Crocodile gets too warm, it can only reduce it's temperature in three ways:  get in the shade;  get in the water;  or sit quietly with its mouth wide open.  The body heat therefore is lost through the soft, moist skin of the mouth and tongue.

Answer 8

2 catch food yum yum