| Mouse Body Language and Behavior |
| non-dominant/untamed- shy, timid, frieghtened of any human and most unfamiliar mice. This mouse can usually be tamed with time if handled early enough. If the untamed mouse is old, chances are it will probably never be fully tamed. It will usually be bullied by the dominant mouse. Mostly eats last and sometimes alone. Sleeps alone or with other untamed/non-dominant mice. |
| non-dominant/tamed- usually run toward a human hand. Is comfortable around other mice. Eats and sleeps with all other mice. Does not bully, but is sometimes victim of bullying by dominant mice. |
| dominant (tamed or not)- the bully. Bullies all mice in the cage. Steals food from any mouse. Eats first. Sometimes will chase non-dominant mice and bite them. Will start fights to settle their dominance. Occassionally will bite a human. |
| Ears layed back, body stiffened- this mouse is scared or mad. Observing their atmosphere and other body language will tell you which. |
| Ears purked on head, eyes wide opened- this is a curious mouse trying to figure out their surroundings. They could be approaching a new cage mate or a new toy. |
| Grooming or yawning- this mouse feels comfortable. They are happy and very familiar with their suroundings. |
| Vigorous grooming- this mouse is nervous. Either they are untamed and being handled too much or they have been placed in a strange environment with unfamiliar cagemates. |
| Rapping/Vibrating the tail- this mouse is annoyed. It usually means they have had enough of you trying to handle them. The good thing about it is that its not a freightened sign, just a annoyance sign. |
| Standing on hind legs- This mouse is either ready to fight or is just curious about something. They might smell a pleasant smell or see something of interest. The sign of fighting is most common between males. |
| Mice colonies are divided into 3 main social classes. These classes determine a level of dominance within the group. Every colony of mice has dominance levels, in the wild as well as domestically. Here you will find a simple description of each level. |
| Every animal has a language in which they communicate with one another and mice are no different. Mice have a higher frequency of hearing than humans, so when they communicate with one another verbally, we usually do not hear them. What we can see is their numerous variations of body language. You may have noticed your mouse vibrating his tail or grooming himself and not realize that he is talking to you. Here you can find what those body signals mean. |
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