“This rodent glossary explains common terms used by pet owners, breeders, and scientists, such as agouti (banded hair color), allonursing (nursing another mother’s young), bruxing (teeth grinding), cecotropes (nutrient-rich droppings rodents re-eat), diastema (the gap behind the incisors), morrillo (a capybara’s snout gland), and popcorning (jumping for joy).”
Whether you’re reading about capybara behavior, setting up a hamster cage, or diving into rodent science, you’ll run into specialized words. This A-to-Z glossary explains them in plain language, with links to our detailed guides where you can learn more.
A
- Agouti: a coat pattern in which each hair has bands of different colors, common in wild rodents. Also the name of a South American forest rodent. See rodent genetics.
- Allonursing: when a female nurses young that aren’t her own, common in capybaras. See capybara reproduction.
- Alarm call: a sound that warns others of danger, like a capybara’s bark or a prairie dog’s call.
- Arvicolinae: the subfamily of voles, lemmings, and muskrats.
B
- Barbering: chewing another animal’s fur or whiskers, often a dominance behavior in mice and rats.
- Boar and sow: male and female guinea pigs (also used for hamsters).
- Boggling: rapid eye movements in contented rats, often with bruxing.
- Bruxing: teeth grinding; soft bruxing often signals contentment in rats.
- Buck and doe: male and female rats, mice, and some other rodents.
- Bumblefoot: infection and inflammation of the feet (pododermatitis).
C
- Caviomorph: the group of South American cavy-like rodents, including capybaras, guinea pigs, and chinchillas.
- Cecotropes: soft, nutrient-rich droppings that rodents eat to absorb vitamins produced by gut bacteria.
- Cecum: a large pouch in the gut where plant fiber is fermented.
- Cheek pouches: expandable pockets for carrying food, found in hamsters and chipmunks.
- Coprophagy: eating droppings, a normal digestive behavior in many rodents.
- Coterie: a family group within a prairie dog town. See prairie dog facts.
- Crepuscular: most active at dawn and dusk, like chinchillas.
D
- Degloving: when the skin of the tail slips off, a defense in gerbils, degus, and spiny mice. Never pick them up by the tail.
- Diastema: the gap between a rodent’s incisors and cheek teeth. See rodent anatomy.
- Drey: a squirrel’s leafy nest.
- Dust bath: rolling in fine dust to clean fur. See chinchilla dust baths.
E to G
- Enrichment: activities and objects that encourage natural behaviors. See enrichment toys.
- Fur slip: a chinchilla releasing patches of fur when grabbed or stressed.
- Glires: the group containing rodents and lagomorphs (rabbits and hares).
- Glass surfing: pawing at enclosure walls, often a stress or boredom sign in hamsters.
H
- Hibernaculum: the nest or chamber where an animal hibernates.
- Hibernation: a long period of deep torpor to survive winter. See do rodents hibernate.
- Hindgut fermenter: an animal that digests fiber in the cecum and large intestine, like capybaras and guinea pigs.
- Hoarding: storing food, either in one place (larder hoarding) or scattered (scatter hoarding).
- Hystricomorph: porcupine-like rodents, including cavies and capybaras.
I to K
- Incisors: the four ever-growing front teeth of rodents.
- Keystone species: a species with an outsized effect on its ecosystem, like beavers and prairie dogs. See why rodents matter.
- Kit: a baby beaver.
L to M
- Lab blocks: uniform, nutritionally complete rodent food.
- Lagomorph: rabbits, hares, and pikas; not rodents.
- Larder hoarding: storing food in one central place, like red squirrels’ middens.
- Malocclusion: misaligned or overgrown teeth.
- Midden: a pile of stored food and debris, especially cones stored by red squirrels.
- Morrillo: the scent gland on a capybara’s snout. See capybara anatomy.
- Myomorph: mouse-like rodents.
N to P
- Neophobia: fear of new things, common in city rats.
- Nocturnal: active at night, like hamsters.
- Patagium: the gliding membrane of flying squirrels. See flying squirrel facts.
- Popcorning: sudden jumps of excitement, typical in guinea pigs.
- Porphyrin: a red pigment around rats’ eyes and nose that increases with stress or illness.
- Precocial: born well developed, like capybara and guinea pig pups.
- Pup: a baby rodent of many species, including capybaras.
R to S
- Rodentia: the scientific order of rodents. See types of rodents.
- Rumblestrutting: a guinea pig’s rumbling, swaying display.
- Scatter hoarding: burying food in many separate spots, like gray squirrels.
- Sciuromorph: squirrel-like rodents.
- Stereotypy: repetitive behavior like bar biting, often linked to stress or poor housing.
- Subnivean zone: the space under snow where voles and lemmings live in winter.
T to Z
- Torpor: a short-term drop in body temperature and activity to save energy.
- Ultrasonic vocalizations: sounds above human hearing, used by rats and mice. See how rodents communicate.
- Vestigial tail: a tiny, barely visible tail, like a capybara’s.
- Vibrissae: whiskers.
- Wet tail: a serious diarrheal illness in young hamsters.
- Wheeking: a guinea pig’s loud whistle of excitement.
- Zoonosis: a disease that can spread from animals to humans. See rodent diseases.
Keep Learning
Now that you know the vocabulary, explore our guides to capybara facts, the best pet rodents, and rodent evolution.
Terms Used for Groups and Homes
Different rodents have their own words for families and homes. A group of prairie dogs lives in a town made up of coteries. Beavers live in colonies in lodges they build of sticks and mud. Squirrels build dreys, and muskrats build lodges of cattails and “push-ups” through winter ice. Capybaras live in groups often called herds. Groundhogs and many other burrowers dig tunnel systems with separate chambers for sleeping, raising young, and hibernating. Learning these terms makes it easier to follow wildlife guides and scientific articles. See beaver facts, muskrat facts, and capybara social structure.
Terms Used in Pet Care
Pet owners often use a set of shorthand terms. “C&C cage” means a guinea pig enclosure built from cubes and coroplast. “Bin cage” refers to a DIY enclosure made from a large storage bin, popular for hamsters. “Free roam” means supervised time outside the enclosure. “Split cage” describes an enclosure divided by mesh for introducing new animals. “Spot cleaning” means removing only soiled bedding and droppings rather than doing a full clean. See guinea pig cage setup and how to introduce two rodents.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does agouti mean?
A banded hair pattern common in wild rodents, and also a type of South American rodent.
What is popcorning?
Sudden, happy jumps, most famously seen in guinea pigs.
What are cecotropes?
Soft droppings that rodents eat to absorb nutrients made by gut bacteria.
What is a morrillo?
The scent gland on top of a capybara’s snout, prominent in males.