It’s common to find that your hamster has food caught in his cheeks, even when he doesn’t seem to be eating.
It also is known among hamster owners that they’re prone to getting more food stuck than other pet rodents like mice, rats, and gerbils.
If you’ve owned a hamster then you most likely asked yourself these questions: Does a hamster’s cheek expand and contract along with the mouth based on the quantity of food intake, Can hamsters get food stuck in their cheeks?
Hamsters can store food in their cheek pouches for long periods.
While this might seem alarming at first, it makes perfect sense if you consider that hamsters are hoarders by nature (they love hoarding all kinds of things).
If you’ve ever seen one go on its daily search for food, then you know how persistent these little critters can be once they set their sights on something tasty; so when your pet finds some yummy morsel on top of his favorite toy or bedding material, he’ll want to save it for later.
Hamster cheek pouches are located on either side of the mouth, just below the eyes. If a hamster is eating something too big for his mouth, he can push it into one of his cheeks to chew on later.
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Is It Safe For Hamsters To Store Food In Their Cheeks?
Yes, it’s safe for hamsters to store food in their cheeks.
Hamsters’ cheeks are used for a variety of reasons, including storing food for later consumption.
The cheeks of hamsters are pouches that can stretch and expand to hold more than their original size.
This is an evolutionary adaptation that allows hamsters to carry food away from their nest and back to it later. The cheek pouches also allow them to store the food in their nest for later use.
They also have very small stomachs, so it will take them a long time to eat the food in the first place.
Here is a great video from BBC Earth that answers the question, “Can Hamsters Get Food Stuck in Their Cheeks?”
When you have a pet hamster, you should make sure that you feed them enough so that they do not need to store any of their food inside of their cheeks. But rest assured that there is nothing wrong with doing it.
7 Things You Might Not Know About Hamster Cheek Pouches
Here are nine things you might not know about hamster cheek pouches:
1. The cheek is expandable
The cheek is expandable and contains several pouches that hamsters can fill with food to transport it back to their burrows or nests. This is how they store food for the winter and how they collect items like seeds and berries.
Their cheek pouches are similar to the ones in squirrels and chipmunks, but they’re not as large. Chinchillas also have cheek pouches, but they’re much smaller than hamsters’.
2. The cheek pouches are naturally created to store food
Hamster cheek pouches are an amazing feature of these small rodents. It’s a natural pouch above the mouth that can expand to store food and water.
The cheek pouches make hamsters so adorable, but they’re also very useful. The pouches allow hamsters to carry lots of food at once and even bring it back to their burrows.
3. Hamsters can run and eat while the pouch remains full
Hamsters can run and eat while the pouch remains full. This is because of their cheek pouches, which they use to store food. The hamster’s cheeks are filled with a special type of tissue that acts like a vacuum, allowing them to suck up food and carry it in their mouth.
4. The pouch does not receive saliva from the hamster’s mouth
Did you know that hamster cheek pouches aren’t part of the mouth? They’re a specialized pocket on the side of their face, and they don’t receive saliva from the hamster’s mouth.
The cheek pouch is a part of the hamster’s digestive system that is completely separate from its mouth.
5. Wild mother hamsters can hide kids in the cheeks
Mother hamsters are the best. They love their kids and will do anything to protect them. They can hide their babies in their cheeks.
If a mother hamster is feeling threatened, she can take her babies and stuff them into these pouches, where they will remain safe until it’s safe for her to come out again.
6. They sometimes encounter problems with the pouch
What you might not know is that hamsters sometimes encounter problems with their cheek pouches.
For example, a hamster’s cheek pouch can become inflamed and painful. If this happens, your pet will most likely try to hide the pain by keeping its mouth open as wide as possible.
If the inflammation persists, you must take your hamster to the vet right away. The vet may need to perform surgery or prescribe antibiotics to make your pet feel better again.
7. The pouches can be expanded and contracted
Hamster cheek pouches are pretty amazing. You might not know that they can be expanded and contracted to accommodate large amounts of food, but they can.
If a hamster eats too much at once, it will simply hold the excess in its pouches until it has time to digest it. even though you might see your hamster eat a lot in one sitting, it can hold even more.
Conclusion
So, can hamsters get food stuck in their cheeks? They definitely can. But it’s not generally a problem.
As with all pets, the most important thing is to make sure that you’re providing your hamster with a healthy diet. That way, he or she will be less prone to overeating.
I hope this post helps you better understand who gets food stuck in their cheeks, and why they might fight to keep that food there.
The best option when trying to get the hamster to get rid of food stuck in its cheeks is to just leave him alone and be patient. He will eventually chew it off and swallow it sooner or later.