How To Distinct A URI From A Vocal Mouse

by River on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 8:19 am

My mice were always vocal -- something I've talked about their entire lives -- but lately Graham has been doing it much more frequently and much louder. I thought that if it were a URI, it'd be consistent and constant, but now I'm not so sure.

It's a loud chattering that gets quieter when you hold her and then occasionally seems to stop altogether. When she eats, it seems to go away as well but I'm not close enough to tell for sure. When she's just doing her thing though, it seems like it might be a constant or at least near constant. She's been awake for a while so I can't answer for when she sleeps.

I was using some cheap critter care bedding which I'm not a big fan of so I swapped it out for paper towels and newspaper at last second.

Should I send a video? I'm worried the stress from losing a cage mate could have made her ill.

EDIT: She's sleeping now, quietly. No sounds. Does this mean she's just chattering more? If so, why?

by River on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 8:22 am

Holding her up to my ear revealed quiet chattering that briefly stops, leaving dead silence, and then as quickly as it's gone it's back again. I just can't tell if there's something going on.

by CallaLily on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 11:53 am

Maybe a video if you can? Or if you're not certain, it never hurts to consult your vet.

by AnonymousMouseOwner on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 3:25 pm

Holly did that her whole life, or at least something similar, and she lived a pretty average lifespan without any other difficulties that could be related to that (She had strokes, but obviously the noise she made had nothing to do with that).

Does it happen mostly when she's in a moment that could be considered exciting? I noticed Holly did it a lot after cage cleanings, during introductions, and later on in her life she did it when she wanted me to pick her up and when she was in my hand, she'd just chatter away, but earlier in her life when she wasn't tame, she'd be silent in my hands because she wasn't happy. She only did it in exciting or happy situations.

Sometime she'd do it towards her sisters also, though not all the time.

Does the noise kind of resemble a mouse sneeze, but they don't jerk their head when they make it like they would when sneezing? That's what Holly's noise was like.

As long as she isn't breathing abnormally, acting lethargic, etc., I wouldn't be too worried. But if you are concerned, you can always ask your vet Smile

by River on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 3:37 pm

I took two this morning (around 9 or 10). In the first one, she stops occasionally when she gets particularly curious about something -- in this case, the outside of her tank. In the other one she's crawling around doing it for the entire video.

She's quiet right now. She started back up with it almost immediately after I woke her up to check on her and add some food to her bowls but stopped when she groomed herself to get ready for bed. I don't think the sound itself is new to me. She's done something similar on occasion, usually when nesting, but never this much. She was always the quieter mouse.

Here's the videos:

https://youtu.be/zTaD5YQVyuo
https://youtu.be/JqZYOjfTpn4

My room is a bit messy in the background. I had just woken up and proceeded to knock half the room over, as one does. Woops.

by River on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 3:42 pm

@AnonymousMouseOwner

Thank you! She does it...fairly often. She got her cage cleaned Monday and yesterday or the day before I had added a hammock and a paper chain. I think that's around the time I started being concerned about it. I would've expected her to stop being excited after that duration of time, but I guess it's possible. She isn't a huge fan of being handled but she doesn't hate it, so that could explain the decrease in chattering when she's picked up.

As for her breathing, it seems normal most of the time, as it does in the videos. She does move her body a lot when she eats, which could be related, but I don't know if that's abnormal or not.

by CallaLily on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 3:56 pm

I think she's just being chatty.

by River on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 4:17 pm

Thanks for the help -- I'm glad she looks fine! Of course, I'll be keeping an eye on it, but I don't think I want to stress her out with a vet visit unless it worsens. She's gone through enough recently.

Chatty mice are cute, if not a little concerning at times.

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 4:38 pm

Is it possible she's calling for Maier? You say she gets quieter or stops when you pick her up, so maybe she just needs a lot more attention and companionship from her human right now.

by River on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 4:51 pm

@MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop wrote:Is it possible she's calling for Maier? You say she gets quieter or stops when you pick her up, so maybe she just needs a lot more attention and companionship from her human right now.

That would make a lot of sense, actually. She used to do that noise with/to Maier when they were nesting, so if she is looking for her, I wouldn't be surprised. I did show her the body but I don't think she fully understood that she was gone, and not just resting.

I'll spend more time handling her just in case.

by **scaredymouse** on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 9:22 pm

Here's a example of a chatty mouse:

https://youtu.be/QwCPQ2FgHs0

by jay.mayhem on Fri 15 Dec 2017, 10:02 pm

I was just wondering the same thing about Kalypso-- he chatters a lot, I guess, and it's not quiet. He does it a lot when I'm holding him or he's eating, so maybe it's an excitement/nerves thing? So thank you lol, saved me time too Smile

by River on Sat 16 Dec 2017, 12:03 am

Sounds the same scaredy, thanks for the video!

We hung out longer than usual today. She seemed to enjoy it (to my surprise, she usually isn't a huge fan), and she was quiet for a long time when she went back to her tank. I'll try to increase my time with her from 30 mins to around an hour -- at different intervals, of course. Does this seem like enough handling, or will she need more?

by CallaLily on Sat 16 Dec 2017, 9:31 am

That sounds good to me. You can always bump it up a little more or a little less, depending on what she seems to be enjoying.

by River on Sat 16 Dec 2017, 1:34 pm

She was pretty happy to be out today. She curled up in my hand and had her head pet for a good 15 minutes, got some cheerios, and went back in. Heart

Her chattering decreased while out again so I guess she's lonely. I did notice she did this silent puff of air once or twice -- not a sneeze, or similar to any sick sounds I know of but definitely a weird little vocalization. Its been interesting to see what sounds mice can make when they get at it. She chatters whenever my mom says hello to her!

I hope she won't get too sad as time goes on. I'll have to make some more hammocks for her -- they're her favorite.

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