Do hamsters store food for several days?!

[Jtynon24]

Hello all! My name is Jennifer. We have a black and brown hamster named Coco. We got her a couple of months ago and things have been going great, until a couple days ago when I noticed her cheek...it seems like she has stored something in there but we are not sure why or what. I am also wondering if maybe it could be something else. Does anyone have experience with this?

Thank you!
Jennifer

[cypher]

They don't keep food in their pouches for any length of time, if there's a lump there that isn't going away the pouch may be impacted & whatever is in there would need to be removed as it can lead to infection if left. If it is that then you would need to take her to the vet.

[souffle]

Hi and welcome
Hamsters do sometimes carry food round and it happens that when you look at them they always seem to have a full pouch however if you have suddenly noticed this and it is one sided it could be either an impacted pouch or an abscess in the pouch. Sometimes something will jab the lining like a sharp seed and cause an infection to form. Usually you will find the breath smells bad if this is the case and the hammy may keep pushing at the cheek with her paw. If it stays and you can feel a hard lump or a squishy mass when you touch it then you should see the vets. They can empry an impacted pouch or abscess and flush it out then treat with antibiotics. I would try and find an exotic specialist vet though.
Sometimes if they have had a little fright from maybe fireworks or you have done a clean out recently they will feel a little insecure and keep wandering around with their food in the pouch. Make sure she has plenty to store and don't overclean the cage with a young hamster. They need to have their scent around to feel safe. Just do spot cleans of the wet corner.

[Pebbles82]

In terms of storing hoards in the cage they can store indefinitely! As Souffle says, it's important not to overclean or remove their hoards completely - that can lead to abnormal behaviours such as hanging onto pouched food if they think someone is going to steal it! You can spot clean mainly and use a litter tray (cage can stay very clean for a long time with a litter tray) and only do a substrate change every 2 to 3 months that way. Even then I don't remove the nest (unless it's pee'd in and then try and leave a bit of the old nest and put some new paper nesting material out for them to pouch and take to rebuild the nest). Also you can leave the hoard which is dried food - for quite a long time. They tend to eat fresh food straight away but checking when spot cleaning is an idea - you soon get to know your individual hamster's habits though. Again I only remove hoard if it is pee'd on. And then again try and leave some of the old dry hoard that isn't pee'd on and always replace the hoard with new food in exactly the same place. They get really quite stressed about their hoard disappearing. Eventually, if left a while, it will start to take over and need pruning a lot at clean out time!

Sorry if you know all that already. So if it isn't a case of removing hoard/overcleaning, then as the others say it could be an infection or impacted pouch and that would need a vet visit. They do pouch bedding as well as food so nesting material is best if it's just paper - plain white toilet paper torn into strips is best for nesting material (ie for the nest not the substrate for the base of the cage although that can be paper based as well sometimes).

If you've been sold any fluffy bedding for nesting then remove it and bin it - it's very dangerous and is known for causing disgestive blockages - and could cause impaction if pouched as well - it can get wrapped round teeth and limbs too.

If it's been a few days and it isn't a case of too much cleaning out, I'd book a vet visit to get your hammy checked out.

[Sasha04]

Everyone gave great advice! Please keep us updated on if she is just carrying food around or has something else in there!