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.

Cheese Tows, or "Cheesy T" for short, prefers to stay near Zelphaba, for she is the only one who can keep the other dragons from eating him alive. In her concern, she now keeps Cheese Tows in a giant, humid area she had added to her house, in order to keep him safe. The little hatchlings, having no interest in Cheese, are allowed in the area to play. When they return, the other dragons lick off any stray cheese they find on the youngsters. The hatchlings don't enjoy that so much.