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[Sillychinchilly]

I searched the forum like crazy for this, but found nothing... Pixel rubs her nose a lot... Just sort of swipes her paw across her nose... Is this normal? What does it mean?
Maybe I just wasn't searching the right text, but I didn't find anything.
Sorry to bug with a dumb question, just curious.

[Jo Ann]

   Not sure ... maybe just to look cute?       Just joking.

There are no dumb questions ... just often regrets they were not ask.  That's why we are here ... we all have experiences and/or research, that someone else does not have, and we share it all to benefit the chinchillas.

Their fur is very, very fine, as we all know ... I would think it might be that a bit of loose fur might tickle their nose and they wipe it away, same as we do.  Their noses and whiskers are extremely sensitive ... something just touching them can tickle.

On the serious side, if a chin is not just wiping it's nose, but also it's mouth ... and it is drooling or has a runny nose ... it's time ... just for safety ... to get their teeth checked out.  Possible malocclusion, if caught early, is easier to treat.

Does either of the eyes look watery?

    Jo Ann

[Abby W.]

Yes, like Jo Ann said, if you aren't seeing any watery eyes, drooling, or a runny nose, then she is fine.  All of my chins do the same thing, even the newborns.  I think it is totally cute!

[Sillychinchilly]

Nope, no watery eyes or drooly mouths, just nose rubbing. I think its cute too.

[haseoandalkaid]

After either of my chinchillas get done eating they have that habit of wiping their nose/face/chest.  I thought it was them removing their crumbs!  I agree with everyone else though, probably just fixing their fur.  Agreed! Cute.

[Sillychinchilly]

I noticed that tonight after her dust bath she wiped her nose like eight times... If she were allergic to it, she'd have a runny nose, wouldn't she? Or am I thinking too much to the human side?

[Jo Ann]

   If she were allergic, she would not stay in the dust bath for long ... and she would probably not want to go back into it.  You don't have one of those sented dust baths that are on the market do you? 

More than likely she was just wipeing away the excess dust, remember the nose is very sensative!   

   Jo Ann

[tinabeana]

Oh!! Do you have a fan or ceiling fan in the room!

I notice my chins wipe their noses more often when we have a fan on!

[Sillychinchilly]

Jo Ann- No we have blue cloud.

tinabeana - there are several fans in my room because the AC vent doesn't work in here, so we have to have something to circulate the air in from the dining room (our room is off of the dining room)

[tinabeana]

Then maybe that's it, the circling air tickles their noses?

If that's it I don't think that's anything to be too concerned over.

[Sillychinchilly]

lol good

[Jo Ann]

 - there are several fans in my room because the AC vent doesn't work in here, so we have to have something to circulate the air in from the dining room (our room is off of the dining room)

Make sure none of the fans blow directly on the chin ... hot or cold ... it's not good for a chin.

Also ... remember ... fans also circulate other things (like dust) not just the air.   

   Jo Ann

[Sillychinchilly]

Nope, none directly on her.
We try to keep the dust to a minimum, I have very bad allergies, so it causes a lot of problems... Pixel even gets her dust bath in the guest bathroom in the tub with the door shut, and I can't be in there. I'll sneeze for days, which sucks because I love to watch the cuteness!

[balletgirl]

My chinnie rubs his nose too, but I know he doesn't have any problems because we just took him to the vet.

[chinchillagirl]

Oh, I love it when my chinnie does this.  It's so cute!