Hamsters "storing" Food??

jessie_nicole99 · 11-14-2012, 07:31 PM

I'm 50% sure this is normal for hamsters, But I just wanted to make sure.

So, one day I fed charlotte, and cleaned up around her cage (My dresser) because it was messy, and wants I looked back in her food bowl, all the food was gone? I didnt think much of it. So a couple days later, it happened again. So the 3-5 time it happened, I watched her. She was taking her food and storing it in her mouth, and taking it up a tube in her cage to the "petting zone" part of her cage and burrying it? (Your not a dog, Charlotte...-__-)

is this normal for hamsters? does your hamster do that to??
I'm pretty sure this is normal for hamsters, but I had to make sure, first..

petal10 · 11-14-2012, 08:07 PM

Yep, this is totally normal... whenever I clean out Pugwash's cage, there are always about 20 peanuts in his house. In fact I think he only eats about 10% of the food I give him and the rest gets buried and then peed on!!

cathface · 11-14-2012, 08:08 PM

yes this is standard hamster behaviour - they usually have a 'food store' somewhere near their bed. I call Hamburglar's (the cream one in my sig) food store his pantry, since he actually chewed a hole into the side of his wooden house so he could put food there!

this is why some people choose to scatter feed as well, since there's no real reason for the bowls other than because we like them and it keeps it neater lol. how much they store does depend on the hamster and the food though; Badger likes to start munching as soon as I refill his bowl, and then when he's full, he'll take a small amount back to bed. Hamburglar likes to take as much as possible, though sometimes he'll stop pouching for a snack or two...

edit - re: what petal has said, that is why I like to feed only small amounts at a time (about two handfuls of mix every few days... my hands are very small) so they don't just store loads and let it go stale! and also their storing means you shouldn't give too much fresh food at a time, or else they might store the lot and it'll go off.

HollyHamster · 11-14-2012, 08:58 PM

Hamsters have fur lined pouches in their cheeks. They put anything they want into them (food, bedding, etc.) and move them around, usually taking the items to their nest. Its 100% natural for them.

Iluvhamsters · 11-15-2012, 04:22 AM

I agree with all of the above. I scatter feed and only give a large handful when Harvey's food store looks quite low, I'm lucky in that she stores it where I can see it

petal10 · 11-15-2012, 04:38 AM

Cathface, I do only give Pugwash about half a handful of food every few days, and to be fair he tends to eat his mix rather than store it... It's mostly just the peanuts that he stores - I think he hardly eats any of them but he loves them so much that I feel mean if I don't give him a couple each day... Would it be better to give him less, or just empty his store more often?

cathface · 11-15-2012, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petal10

Cathface, I do only give Pugwash about half a handful of food every few days, and to be fair he tends to eat his mix rather than store it... It's mostly just the peanuts that he stores - I think he hardly eats any of them but he loves them so much that I feel mean if I don't give him a couple each day... Would it be better to give him less, or just empty his store more often?

haha bless I know that feeling! when you give them a treat and then they look up at you, hoping for another...

with Pugwash, if he doesn't really eat them I would just give him less so there's less wastage! I don't really like emptying their stores unless I have to (eg. fresh food that's going funny, stale dry stuff they're not eating), I usually just feed enough for them to store a bit, and let them empty their own stores through midnight snacking haha.

jessie_nicole99 · 11-15-2012, 04:07 PM

So its normal For hamasters to store food? Ohh.. Ok, thanks for the info. Guys!

Oh and one time I gave her a Peice of cabbage, and the peice was HUGE. She tried to store it in her mouth! I thought she was going tro choke.. So I took it from her, and ripped it up into tiny peices, and gave it back to her. Could she of choked on it, or no?

Iluvhamsters · 11-16-2012, 04:23 AM

I don't think she would have choked on it, hamsters know when something is too big to pouch but they usually like to try first then they usually chew it up into more manageable sized pieces.

Natbat · 11-16-2012, 04:30 AM

We have had little Roebling for a few weeks and he has made his bed in the little toilet i bought for him, he doesnt use it as a toilet but has pulled all his bedding in there and stores his food in there too!

He also only seams to use his left storage pouch in his cheeks, i dont know if this is normal but it makes him look really cute and lop-sided