Do all Hamsters store food in their cheek pouches?

[BexieID]

The Syrian I had as a teen and the one I looked after a few times both stored food in their cheek pouches. I've yet to see Fluffy do this! I'm assuming that he's doing it when we are asleep or maybe some hamsters don't bother?

[Pebbles82]

I wondered about this when we got Charlie because he didn't pouch at all at first, but I think it's something they learn how to do and don't get it when they're little lol! Maybe it's a development stage or something. Charie was doing it after 3 or 4 weeks and he was about 6 to 8 weeks old when we got him (I think!)

[BexieID]

The lady we got him from thought he was 11 weeks, so he'd be 12 weeks now if she was right. Will just have to wait and see then.

[Fluffagrams]

I've not really noticed May doing it yet. She seems to just sit in her food bowl and nibble away at her favourite bits.

Meat will pouch his food and take it to his little TV toy and eat in there. He's always tried to hide when he eats but doesn't realise that we can still see him in his TV.

[Vectis Hamstery]

Hamsters don't usually store food in their pouches. They use them more as we use shopping bags; to take food away and then stash it in a private place Not all hammies will move their food about, and hams may change what they do. Mostly my lazier hams prefer to leave the food in their bowl and nibble as they need, whereas my energetic (usually girl) hams will have the whole bowl stashed before I've finished feeding the other hams - a neat trick to get second helping by making me think I forgot to feed them!

[cypher]

With the exception of my Chinese who stashed loads from day one all of mine have taken a while to pouch & stash, they seem to start once they've really settled in & feel they have somewhere safe to store it!

[Nat]

I think it's down to each individual ham. My Dolly hardly ever pouches food, as her hoard is (very conveniently) her food bowl so she has little need to really