Do mice make sounds when being pet/cuddled?

by ArnoldTheMouse Tue 02 Jun 2020, 1:41 am

My little buddy, Arnold, loves cuddles and being pet behind his ears. I noticed that whenever I’m doing this, he does these movements with his mouth and it’s almost like chattering? I don’t notice it other than when I’m petting him... I don’t think it’s a respiratory infection. Is it normal for them to do things like this? Maybe he just really loves being pet? Smile

by Comet Wed 03 Jun 2020, 2:36 am

If the "chattering" heard closely sounds like little teeth crunching or so, the mouse is doing a very normal behavior called bruxing, in which they are actually just grinding their teeth! In this situation, the bruxing means that he's a very happy boy! Smile

Other times, a bit more rare, bruxing can be a sign of nervousness.

However if the chattering sounds closer to very faint tiny squeaks, I would say that is not normal.

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Wed 03 Jun 2020, 2:03 pm

It kind of depends on what goes along with Arnold's vocalizations. If he's just sort of relaxed, eyes closed, enjoying being petted, then he may just be making happy sounds of contentment. If, however, he is alert, and especially if he's looking at you when he does it, Arnold may be mousie-communicating with you. Just as mice communicate among themselves (usually with sounds that human ears cannot detect), some may try to communicate with the humans in their lives. They may try all kinds of different noises before they find some that get our attention, and then its a matter of us trying to guess what their intention is.

When I first got little April, she hid in her mousehouse for about ten days, and then she figured out that it was fun to run up and down my sleeves and across my shoulders, and to watch the world from a perch on my shoulder. For the next month, she "trained" me by peeping out little mousie orders that I figured out meant things like "I'm bored - let's do something else", "time to go indoors", and "I'd like to go back in my house now". Once she had me trained, she seemed to know that I had become perceptive to what she liked, and how much of it, and she mostly stopped talking to me. She could let me know what she wanted just by going to a particular place, standing a certain way, the look on her face.

Arnold is giving you a chance to play Doctor Dolittle!

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Do mice make sounds when being pet/cuddled?

Do mice make sounds when being pet/cuddled?

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