Strange gesture while eating/biting (occasionally)

[s]

Hello! 

I'm posting about a weird degu gesture which may be indicative of a problem. 

Very occasionally (I notice about once every two days, and spend a lot of time with him) my degu Daewoo (3yo) does a weird thing while eating/biting.

It seems like sometimes he bites wrong, or whatever he bites pokes a sensitive area of his mouth or something. He'll suddenly stop biting and raise his head back while moving his mouth like he has something stuck in it that he's trying to get out. It only lasts a few seconds and then he goes back to eating/biting. I started noticing it maybe a couple of months ago. It seems sort of like what humans do when we bite an ice cream and it hits a sensitive tooth. 

He's still eating normally and enjoys eating sticks as usual. But I'm a little concerned that this could indicate a dental issue or something. Since it's not affecting his lifestyle I'm not sure it's worth taking him to the vet over (he's really scared of the vet). Could he just be getting something stuck in his teeth, or have a sensitive tooth, or do we think it's something more serious? He's my first degu so I'm not sure what's normal.

Any advice would be appreciated! 

[savvy]

Hello again.

Mine do that too, its usually when they have something stuck on a tooth or the inside of their mouth and they need to move it. You may spot them sort of washing their mouths while drinking, its a sort of water swish before swallowing. This again is just getting any debris off.

If it was causing any pain, they would stop eating.

[teemu]

I also have a degu that has always done this, seemingly without any reason (he's never had dental issues so it can't be due to that). So it's probably not something to be worried over, unless it actually looks like he's eating less because of it.

Incidentally, has Daewoo ever had his teeth checked by a vet? It may not be related to that at all, but many degus do suffer from dental spurs and overgrown molars at some point during their life, so if it starts looking like something in his mouth is constantly bothering him, and his teeth have not been checked previously, then I would suggest taking him to a vet.

But as mentioned, this issue in itself, unless it becomes very serious and he seems to be avoiding eating, doies not seem to be an indicator of problems.

[s]

Thank you for the advice! I'm happy to hear it's probably nothing bad.

He hasn't ever had his teeth checked. I've been wondering how often (if at all) he should be going for a dental checkup. Should I be taking him preemptively, or only when there seems to be a problem?

[teemu]

My vet, back when I was first bringing degus in to be checked, advised that unless there are problems, younger degus especially do not need to be regularly checked, and you should only bring them in if there are actual symptoms (either acute, like not being able to eat or constantly pawing at mouth etc, or more long-term like losing weight or seeming muted, pained or just otherwise abnormal) that need to be addressed. While degus often do get dental problems at some point, being put under anesthesia is never totally risk free, so it's best not to do it without clear need.

Basically, unless Daewoo seems to be losing weight, or actually starts to avoid eating (or just has trouble eating, like taking a really long time to slowly and carefully nibble on a treat), I would not be very worried about his teeth. I mostly asked because if he'd had a dental some time ago, it would have been even less likely that he's suffering from any teeth problems. So for now, I think you are fine just keeping an eye on him in case it gets worse or other symptoms appear.