# Why does my rat look like she is chewing gum?



## Mattsrats (Feb 24, 2014)

My rat Squeak does this weird thing when I pick her up and during free roam.

She looks like she is chewing gum along with a lip smacking sound. It's constant... pick her up and she starts, put her down and she stops unless its free roam. My friend said he could hear the smacking sound from the other side of the living room.

Is this some kinda nervous habit?

She has always been an odd rat... she has been pooping and peeing on me since the day I got her. She loves treats and will take them from me and she is super affectionate during free roam but the minute you handle or pet her.... the poop/pee floodgates open.

Is it normal to have a rat with such bowel issues? She is around 4 months old and I have had her since she was 3.5 weeks old (I have her mother and brother too)


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## new_rattie_mommy (Aug 24, 2014)

you are sure it is not a chattering kind of thing she is doing? and is it when she eats something? cuz I have seen one of my boys do something similar to that when he eats something yucky like when i put medicine inside something and feed it to him. one time i put medicine inside tiny pieces of bread (i know they aren't really supposed to eat bread but i was desperate) and he made this lip smacking movement like he was still chewing for a long time after he had already eaten it and it turned out he was actually regurgitating it cuz he didn't like it. He ended up spitting it up on my shoulder a few minutes later...eww. He's done this with different things. Could that be what she's doing if she had eaten treats during free time?


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

My rats used to chatter a lot during free roam when everything was unfamiliar. I wonder if this is what you are hearing too. It's a sound that represents nervousness, excitement etc.


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## Mattsrats (Feb 24, 2014)

Nah it's not chattering, her teeth aren't involved at all... just her tongue and lips.

I just find it odd that she is so nervous around me .... I have had her since just after her eyes opened and she is totally freaked out about being held or petted.


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