What Does This Mean

[tjlewis10]

I was wondering if anyone can help me out here. My Chin has done this the past 2 nights. I have a video I uploaded below to show you what he is doing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wess_VrhA

I've had him for a week now and he is already climbing on my shoulder some and allowing the occasional pets.

The first time he let me pet him 2 days ago he was on this ledge and he let me pet him for like 20 secs and then started rubbing himself on the cage...

Last night my wife petted him a bit in another part of his cage and then jumped on this ledge(she was standing right beside it) and started rubbing himself on the cage towards her hand. I then reached in and petted him a bit and he accepted it.

After both of these events he shook his head and made a sneezing sound. It was just one noise not a chain of them. It also was not any kind of shriek... It sounds more of a sneeze.

He also chatters his teeth while in the position. I've read this could be anger or happiness. He let me pet him while he chatters... Does this symbolize happiness?

So, I guess I have a few questions here.....

Does anyone know what the rubbing of the cage means?

What could this sneezing noise be?

Should I leave him alone when he does this?

Does he associate this ledge with petting? Could this be his way of telling me he wants to be petted, by jumping on this ledge?

Like i said I've had him for a week and he seems to trust me. Last night before the petting he climbed off of the bathroom counter onto my shoulder and into my hand. He then let me set him on the floor, and he also climbed my back up to my shoulder the night before...

I just want to make sure I am not bothering him as I don't want him to be scared of me..... Just looking for someone with little more experience to help me out here..... Sorry for the long post!!!

 

[ticklechin]

He thinks the ledge has some dust in it but is too smart to actually roll, so he is doing a "pre dust" move. Chins think humans are greasy beasts and if there is any dust around, they will go for it after being touched.

 

[tjlewis10]

Ok, so he isn't scared or stressed in anyway from what you can tell?

 

[Chinups]

He's definitely not acting scared. He seems pretty calm. Do you have a Blue Cloud rock in his cage? Are you giving him a dust bast regularly? Also, from the video, it's hard to see if he has any other wooden ledges in his cage where he can actually spread out and lie down. My chins will sometimes do the little scratch motion right before they get cozy and lie down on their side (it's really cute). Other times, they rub their face on any residual dust found on the ledges and roll around carefully so they don't fall off. In any case, your chin does not look unhappy in the video

 

[tjlewis10]

I do not have any rocks in his cage but I do give him a bath 2 or 3 times a week. I like near a beach in Florida so it gets very humid here. I don't have many ledges because his cage is not that big. I will probably picking him up a hammock to see how he likes it.

I'm glad he wasn't unhappy... I just didn't want to do anything to lose what little trust I have with him. Sometimes it hard to read him. He will act sad or something and then he will be bouncing around like a crazy person the next. I was giving him a treat every time I took him out of his cage.(puff piece from his food, shredded wheat, chewing stick, timothy hay bite) Last night I took him out an didn't give him anything and he didn't seem happy about it. He just went back in his cage and sat in the corner.... Just looking out of it with his paws on the side of the cage.... I think he was pouting.

I'm trying to not give him treats very much and if I do I want to make sure they are good ones.

 

[Michellemazz]

So happy to see a chin with such a caring owner.

This forum is awesome. You will learn lots here.

It took a bit to bond with my chin.
Now that he is out of his shell, he is a demanding little brat.
They are incredibly smart and very much little mini individuals.