It was a habit. When he was deep in thought, he would usually point his thumb to his mouth before biting his nails.
It could be said that the habit had stuck with him since he was a wolf many years ago. He liked to play with his paws when he was still a wolf many years ago, and he would often bite his own paws when he had nothing to do.
He had no parents back then, and when he had no one to play with, he would play with his paws to drive his boredom away.
When he was a wolf, he didn't have the complicated thoughts he felt after he turned into a werewolf, but the habit still followed him even after he became the King of the Full Moon Land.
Even if the habit was indeed bad because nails could be considered dirty, no one in the Full Moon Land would dare criticize him because he was a King there, but he suddenly heard someone questioning his habits after he transmigrated into the modern world.