What Does Your Chin Look Like When It Eats?

[caiti]

I know this might be a weird question, but it suddenly dawned on me today that I can ask instead of wondering...!!!

Since I'm petrified of malocclusion and have several posts to prove it, I wondered if the way my chin eats is indicative of some problem.

She looks kind of like a ruminant looks when she is eating her pellets. Ears a little down, eyes a bit less open and she kind of sits there and...ruminates (figuratively)!! That's the only way I can describe it.

She has done this ever since I got her but never looks like this when she's chewing on something else (twigs, hay) or when I give her a treat or supplement. She only does it when she is at her pellet bowl for longer than a moment. I don't believe I've seen her do it every time, I think I've noticed it more during the day but I can't be sure.

She has lost weight recently but has plateaued at about 560 for the past 2-3 months and quickly gained the weight back she lost from when she had gas a couple weeks ago. She eats about 2 tablespoons of pellets a day, maybe a bit less on some days but never much less.

My fear is this is a pain response but obviously, I am not sure. Has anyone else noticed this? Or do I have a moo-chin?

 

[Laurie]

If by ruminate you mean to be calm, slow and thoughtful then I understand what you are saying. If you mean it to be chew cud then I do not.

I have a boy, Wesley, who often sleep eats and this is no exaggeration. He lays beside his food dish, lifts his head up, takes a pellet and lays down again to eat. He also sleeps standing up holding his food bowl and will occassionally waken to eat a bite or two and go back to sleep.

Not all chins are the same when they eat. My digger girls Bobo and GiGi dig through all their pellets getting rid of at least 3/4 before eating.

Leonard stands between his food dish and water bottle. He eats a pellet then takes a drink, eats a pellet then takes a drink. The only time I've ever seen Leonard eating is when he is eating. I've never seen him just take a drink for the sake of drinking.

 

[Sandi]

If you give my boys a treat or a twig or new wood hanging toy, they will go to town on those babies as if someone is going to take that away from them immediately. But when they eat pellets, it's different because, I believe, the pellets are always there and it's not a treat or a new wood chew, if you know what I mean?

 

[caiti]

If by ruminate you mean to be calm, slow and thoughtful then I understand what you are saying. If you mean it to be chew cud then I do not.

I have a boy, Wesley, who often sleep eats and this is no exaggeration. He lays beside his food dish, lifts his head up, takes a pellet and lays down again to eat. He also sleeps standing up holding his food bowl and will occassionally waken to eat a bite or two and go back to sleep.

Not all chins are the same when they eat. My digger girls Bobo and GiGi dig through all their pellets getting rid of at least 3/4 before eating.

Leonard stands between his food dish and water bottle. He eats a pellet then takes a drink, eats a pellet then takes a drink. The only time I've ever seen Leonard eating is when he is eating. I've never seen him just take a drink for the sake of drinking.

Um, sort of both. Obviously chins don't chew cud but have you ever looked at a cow when it is chewing it's cud? Which does actually look slow, calm and thoughtful. It's just the look on their face. They look a bit sleepy, I guess. I was just afraid it was more wincing than sleepy but it's good to know you have strange chins too!!

That's so funny that so many of your chins eat in weird ways. That sounds hilariously entertaining to watch. Is Leonard's bowl and bottle on the same side of the cage, or does he run in between them?? And I'm assuming this is all in between his Elvis tube and fishbowl (no, but it would make it funnier). I can picture him now: bowl, bottle, Elvis, bowl, bottle, fishbowl...repeat. Silly Leonard.

Sandi--yes I do know what you mean. I thought of that also because she seems to take her sweet time and grazes on her pellets, but god forbid there's an millimeter of unchewed twig in the cage...she will hunt it down.

 

[kimbt622]

I know what you mean. I don't think it's anything to worry about. Alot of my boys just will roll out of "bed" (their house or wherever they're sleeping) during the day and go to their bowl. I think if they get hungry, they just make their way over there. They don't really bother trying to wake themselves up, so they're sort of half asleep when they're eating and take their sweet time. Of course, there's Milo who actually sits in his bowl and picks out the food under his butt.. but he's just a weirdo. :wacko:

 

[Luci]

lol omg lauries story of leonard cracks me up!

well...before i put fleece on the bottom of gizmo's cage, he'd sit on top of his food bowl to eat then nearly headdive into his bowl to get some pellets. not he just sits at the side of it and eats. but he has this "contemplative look" about him-he's always looking around, kinda like hes like "hmmm so whats over here...and over there..." all while slowly chewing. then he'll do the stretch-halfway-out-of-the-hidey-house move to grab a pellet and then go back.

i think chins just eat in many different positions. i think theyre lazy half the time lol.

 

[ticklechin]

The malo chewing motion is slow, methodical and exagerated, the chin will then act stunned, drop the pellet without finishing and swipe the mouth repeatedly and run away. You are not describing the "malo motion" the way I see it.

 

[caiti]

The malo chewing motion is slow, methodical and exagerated, the chin will then act stunned, drop the pellet without finishing and swipe the mouth repeatedly and run away. You are not describing the "malo motion" the way I see it.

She is slow (or maybe just calm) and maybe methodical, probably not exaggerated. She mouth swipes all the time. A lot of times it will turn into her grooming her hand and then the rest of herself. She seems to do it randomly and I don't particularly notice her doing it more after she's eaten. I actually haven't seen her do a lot of nose swipes. She's never had x-rays but has been looked at by a vet twice and there's nothing he can see or feel as far as teeth issues.

She's gaining weight since she was sick a couple weeks ago. She is usually around 560, most of the time a gram or so under but today she is 566.

And she pretty much acts stunned and runs away from everything. She's a little spastic.

Maybe I'll take a video of her if I ever get my camera to work for more than 5 seconds. I know I've had a couple questions about her physical behavior and it would probably help if I posted a video.

 

[Olallie]

I agree a video of a cute fluffy chinnie will be the best! ^^b

My boy Rosco will sit on top of his bowl sleep for a awhile, wake up pick out a few pellets eat them then go back to sleep. He does this all day long until dinner time then i see him lounging in his tube.

 

[Laurie]

Cait, Leonards food is next to the water bottle. So he just stands there in front of the bowl and then eats and takes a drink. It is pretty funny to watch him. But when I'm trying to read and have to listen to it, it's rather annoying lol!

Nothing is as silly as Wesley though who is so lazy he eats while laying down!!

 

[Silverrose]

My chin, Apollo, is a sleep eater too! It is quite amusing to watch. He sits on the edge of his food bowl, which I have no idea how this works since he is a fatty, and his bowl is not that big. He just squints his eyes open to pick up a pellet, closes his eyes while eating, then falls asleep on the bowl when he is done with a few pellets. This then repeats a few times until he is really tired, then just flops over next to the bowl to take a nap. He just cracks me up!

 

[mommyslittlechins2010]

lol lol that's cute !! just af ew days ago maisy was sitting on her one hanign toy and was reaching over to the food dish and was feeding her self from the hanging toy. lol lol i was like what in the world. then she jumps off and comes to greet me..