Cheese Dragons are not actually alive. They are enchanted items of food that act almost identically to dragons. They have no need to eat, but they must “live” in humid environments or they will dry out and harden.

Mur is convinced zie is actually the ghost of a cheesie who was murdered by a cruel dragon jealous of hir high rank. Neither the fact that zie is still alive and breathing, nor the fact that no cheesie has ever had any rank in Kanaye's cave, has deterred hir in the slightest. When these facts are pointed out to hir, zie attempts to explain that zie is a ghost in a corporeal body he stole from another cheesie, one who wasn't using it. Most dragons have no idea what zie is talking about. Dumbfounded, they simply blink at hir, shake their heads and walk off in search of saner company.

Even Secret Agent, one of the few dragons who understands the scientific complexities Mur spouts, has given up trying to set hir straight. Once, just to satisfy his own curiosity, Agent went through the cheesie section of the cave, performing a roll call using Kanaye's detailed list. Agent did not fail to notice that not only were there no missing cheesies, Mur actually answered to hir own name.