Is this normal?

[kuba]

Is it normal for a dwarf hamster to try to bury its' food dish in bedding?

[Denisekay]

I think it would. He is probably trying to store the food. Burrowing hamsters generally have a burrow for sleeping and a burrow for storing food so I'm going to assume that he is trying to store it, but I can't be positive.

[PikaTay]

My dwarf does that every time I fill the bowl. Its a natural instinct to hide food and keep it safe. I've heard hamsters will usually make a food stash somewhere in the cage, but I guess ours are just lazy and figure if they throw the substrate on top, it's hidden enough ;D

[DrKMcK]

Hello kuba. Yes, it is normal for hamsters to do this. They will also take food away and bury it in stashes. Since they can only take away what they can fit in their pouches, they will often bury the rest...the food in the dish. All of my hammies do this.

[Skeever]

Ziggy never did this really, but Pook does it religiously. Covers the food dish enough to make me wonder where he dragged it off to ....only to realize it's under a thin layer of substrate.

Remember, no opposeable thumbs means no tupperware...