Why do Chins paw their mouth and whiskers?

[Millie'sMum]

Wondering why Chins paw at their mouth and then proceed to grab their whiskers from the base and pull through the length? Do they shove food in their mouth for storage/transportation like other rodents (squirrels and hamsters)? Is this a natural grooming habit like how men would clean their mustache? I look at her do it every night and its funny, but just curious as to why.

 

[Laurie]

Chins clean their whiskers frequently just to clean them. If you notice your chin pawing at it's mouth that's something different. They often rub their face and then draw their arms down to clean their whiskers--I call it the fu manchu.

If you notice your chin eating and then pawing at it's mouth without cleaning the whiskers this could be a sign something is wrong with your chins mouth.

But if it just the whisker cleaning then no worries--they are just tidying up!

 

[Millie'sMum]

ummm well she like uses her paws (not when she eats) to swipe at her mouth and makes that sound how kids do when they are little, like she is trying to get something out of her mouth, but then cleans her whiskers afterwards usually...im getting worried now...she does not have an ear flick when eating, eats, drinks and poos normally and chews on plenty of wood sticks I have purchased from members here...i wish there was a way to see a video and compare it to what she does...i can't find my camera otherwise I would try to catch her in the moment...but it's too quick for me to turn on the camera and start the video...she only does like 2-4 swipes...???

 

[GorillaJTA]

Sounds normal to me. Rodents rely in their whiskers (vibrissae) for spatial recognition. Keeping them clean and separated is important as each individual whisker is connected to a nerve that sends signals to a barrel cell in the brain. Most rodents (including chins) can operate whiskers almost individually to judge hole sizes, shapes, and other spatial characteristics. Getting them gunked up with food or dirt would be like walking around with a patch over one eye- it would mess up your perception.

 

[ticklechin]

Watch close when eating, mouth swiping after eating-this would be pretty much every time the chin eats and often when not eating can be a dental problem with tooth points. It can also be in conjuction with a choke like motion.

 

[Riven]

I also can't back this up, but it may be possible... you say that she's trying to get something out of her mouth it seems. For anyone who's seen the inside of a chins mouth they can see how the check pouches work, it's kind like of like it's split into two sections. The front section is the front incisors which are used to bite food, then you have the cheek pouches which pretty much come in toward the center of the mouth and sort of section off the mouth, then the molars in the back section. With all of the skin in there I can see that it would be easy to get food stuck in there and if their tongue is not agile enough they may get something stuck in there to get out, using their paws, just one or two swipes may help get it unstuck and moved forward. I mean, I'm ended up with half my hand in my mouth to get out something lodged between the back of my check and my teeth.

Dawn if your vet's fancy new equipment includes a video scope that would be awesome to get pictures if you ever get the chance. Also like Dawn said it can be a symptom of dental issues, the swiping would be often and more often when eating, think of it like someone rubbing something that's sore to try to make it feel better.

Whiskers are used for perception and they also apparently serve a purpose of distinction. It is not unusual for a dominant chin to chew off the whiskers of a chin who's lower on the pole so to say, so perhaps in some aspect it's a sign of arrogance or saying look at me, no one's chewed my whiskers, as well as keeping them clean?

 

[ticklechin]

I wonder if my camera would take a picture of the otoscope view that I see? Its magnified.

 

[Millie'sMum]

I have never ventured in my Chins mouth...wouldn't even have a clue about how to even do that but willing to try I suppose...yea she NEVER does it while eating food..only during playtime that I have noticed while she is jumping all around, so thats is why I think something gets lodged in her mouth and she uses her paw to swipe at to knock it out.
So I mean if and when I do look in her mouth what do I look for and what should I see? Or better yet what Shouldn't I see?

 

[GorillaJTA]

You should not see small men in green suits. Nor should you see a purple banana. Sorry. What shouldn't you see is an open question...

I would not go mouth spelunking without a vet.

 

[addictedtochins]

Nichole's (Riven) post about food getting gunked up in the pouches of their mouth gave me a thought. If they did have food pouched up on the inside of their mouth, it seems that pulling the whiskers in the grooming motion that they do would also help dislodge that. What are your thoughts?

 

[ticklechin]

I have never ventured in my Chins mouth...wouldn't even have a clue about how to even do that but willing to try I suppose...yea she NEVER does it while eating food..only during playtime that I have noticed while she is jumping all around, so thats is why I think something gets lodged in her mouth and she uses her paw to swipe at to knock it out.
So I mean if and when I do look in her mouth what do I look for and what should I see? Or better yet what Shouldn't I see?

As a newbie owner, I would ask you to not look in her mouth, the otoscope should only be used when one has been trained to use it. I have been taught by my mentor and my vet since I have had 10 years experience with many malocclusion chins. If she does not do it while eating I would not worry.

 

[Amy555]

Are you sure it's a mouth swipe and not a nose swipe? The nose swipe and whisker cleaning are normal.

 

[Millie'sMum]

ok good deal! I was not looking forward to trying to get her to open her lil mouth!

It's hard for me to tell if it is a mouth or nose swipe bc she is really dark (and I usually let her play in my room with a night light on with me) AND she does it so fast I barely have a chance to really analyze it... I will try to google a mouth swipe video and compare it to her when she does it if I can really hone in her.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help. So glad I don't have to go in her mouth, I figured it would be upsetting and unsettling for her!

 

[Stackie]

IMO a mouth swipe and a nose swipe look different in my experience- when it's with their mouth it's more of a pawing that they do at least a couple times, a nose swipe is just one quick motion.

Saying that she does it during playtime and not while eating really makes me think it's a nose swipe- my boys nose swipe all the time during playtime. Do you let her dust during playtime?

 

[Millie'sMum]

Yes, I only allow her dust during playtime a few times a week. I have it limited to about 2x week now that I am in Ohio where the weather is so much dryer, I don't want her skin to get dried out from the frequent baths. Do you think its dust getting in her nose and that's why I only see her doing that durning playtime?

She didn't do it last night, but when she does do it there's a hollow noise to it when she does it, like how we can make an "o" with our mouth and tap our hands over it to make that noise, looks like an "indian and cowboy" kids play...sorry didn't know how to describe the noise other than that

I don't think she has any teeth issues because she gnaws away on her wood items and lava ledge, whole rosehips for treats, eats, drinks and poos just fine....but got nervous when someone mentioned it earlier in the thread...its better being safe than sorry though. I wanted to see if it was more of a "peacock show" dominance show or whatever.