Tail rattling at seemingly nothing?

by River Thu 14 Jul 2016, 9:41 am

I heard someone out and about, and upon going over to see who it was, Graham started rattling her tail against the tank. Maier was sleeping, so it wasn't at her. I wouldn't of thought she'd rattle at me, as she doesn't tend to act frightened of me when I'm messing with the tank; she'll sometimes put a paw on me and nibble, which of course, I'm trying to discourage. She does occasionally squint when she's approaching me, though, so I reckon it could be her rattling at me.
If the rattling was directed at me, what should I do in terms of training her? I've just been doing the 'leave your hand in the cage' method, and I'm not sure where else to go with it.

by AnonONIagent Thu 14 Jul 2016, 10:50 am

Lucy would do this. I'm not sure what it meant, though.

by River Thu 14 Jul 2016, 11:14 am

Usually tail rattling means they feel threatened. I've heard some people say even their very tame mice do it sometimes, provided they're in a bad mood or something. I wonder.

by scaredymouse Thu 14 Jul 2016, 12:07 pm

When my husband sneaks up on me, I scream. Because I'm startled. And then I usually say some bad words. I think tail rattling from a tame mouse is akin to that sort of thing. And yes, every now and then, I startle my very tame mice and they will give me little rattle, too.

by Ealexander Thu 14 Jul 2016, 12:36 pm

Yeah, it might have been at you, or more likely at your shadow moving because she just didn't realize it was you and was scared or nervous.

by MouseLover Thu 14 Jul 2016, 1:07 pm

Tail rattling is a mouse's first defense - it's a way of trying to scare something off before having to actually bite/attack. I agree with scaredy - I think she's heard something or seen movement, and it made her feel spooked, so she's going "Oi, whatever's there, back off" just in case it's something to be scared of.