Earlier this month I wondered if their was some body language or very quiet secretive  rabbit to rabbit communication going on between Tigger and Shadow. It has always confused us over the past ten years how they will suddenly go from lovey dovey snuggling together to jumping up and outright fussing with each other or humping heads and chasing.  We are always left scratching our heads wondering what started that change in behavior.

This weekend, Shadow shared a secret with me. I was flat on my stomach on the floor petting Tigger when Shadow hopped up beside me and stuck his nose in my ear.  It was horrendously ticklish with all those whiskers, like having a Daddy Long Legs suddenly walk in.  I was about to jump away when I realized I was hearing an extremely soft squeaking type of sound.  It wasn’t excited or scared, just a very soft, very low vocalization.  I ignored the tickling and stilled myself to listen to Shadow just squeaking a little message to me.

Shadow was clearly talking to me and so softly that if he hadn’t had his nose right in my ear, I would not have heard it at all.  I was amazed and wondered if this is the type of communication that they regularly have with each other that would be way too quiet for our human ears to hear. 

In the past, I have read of rabbit squeaks and they were always associated with a scared or terrified rabbit.  Tigger has a mewing cry at times when she is ill or we are holding her to medicate her.  That clearly is a fear based sound.

This was an entirely different type of squeak, more musical, one I would describe as just Shadow trying to say something to me and making sure I heard it by putting his nose right up in my ear.  Tigger and Shadow often stick their noses in each other’s ears and usually grooming is involved.  I always assumed it was just grooming, now I wonder if they are also squeaking out little messages to each other too.

I feel like Shadow let me in on another piece of the rabbit puzzle.