Winter White Cheek Pouch Behavior?

Sylnae · 05-18-2015, 10:35 AM

Hi! I'm a new hamster owner, and about two weeks ago I finally got my new winter white hamster, Potato.

She seems to be acclimating well and I'm beginning the process of taming her. But there's one thing that makes me a little nervous. She likes to store seeds and bits of food in her pouches but recently she's been shifting around the contents of her pouches visibly in her cheeks but not removing anything. Occasionally she'll produce a bit of food from her pouch but she moves the contents pretty often and rarely removes anything.

I was wondering if this was normal or if she might have something stuck in there.

**DrKMcK** · 05-18-2015, 04:09 PM

Hello Sylnae, and welcome to Hamster Central. Sometimes a new hamster will hang on to their food because they don't feel their food will be safe. If she has a lot of hidey spots she may start to let the food be stored in one of them. Give her a bit more time. If you have seen her remove some, it's probably not stuck. Give her a bit more time to settle. If she still does it you can have a vet check her just to be safe.

Sylnae · 05-18-2015, 07:26 PM

Okay thank you! Also another quick question on her behavior.
I had a wheel in her cage for about a week before realizing that even if she tried to run in it it wouldn't spin. I have since oiled the wheel and now it spins easily but I fear that she's given up on running on it after having it not work for so long. Is there any way I can get her to try running on her wheel again?

Miss kiwi · 05-18-2015, 07:38 PM

You're hamster most likely likes to run naturally. If you are able to, put a few of her toys in your bathtub and plug the drain so she can't get down and make sure the wheel is in there. Then watch her go about her business exploring the bathtub. Maybe even just put the wheel in for a few minutes to see if she uses it. If that doesn't work than you can always put her on the wheel and slightly spin it to let her know that it is now moving!

cypher · 05-18-2015, 11:51 PM

Is the wheel big enough for her to run in? A Russian dwarf needs something like a 6.5" silent spinner or 8" Karlie wonderland wheel to run comfortably, she may be running in it when your not around so try putting a little food in it or put some substrate on top & see if it's gone in the morning.

Sylnae · 05-20-2015, 09:59 AM

I tried the putting food into her wheel trick and it seems to have worked! She now runs for a short period of time in her wheel before getting off but she does run in it! I was getting a little concerned because I feel like she's been looking a little chubby recently (but maybe that's just my imagination haha)

WinnieTheHam · 05-20-2015, 02:12 PM

I wouldn't worry about her, she's probably just settling in and like DrK said she may not feel safe having her food not in her pouches! She may not feel comfortable yet to use her wheel but as time goes by and she settles in she will most likely start to use it. I wouldn't put her in a bathtub yet as it may stress her out and you wouldn't want that now when she's only just started to settle. I know it's hard not to worry, i worry about Winston all the time! and i've had him for months now.