A bit concerned...

[cara]

When i woke up this morning i noticed that hamilton had moved all of his bedding from his igloo to the corner of his cage so i decided that i would clean him out. When i went to clean out the igloo i noticed that there was a huge stash of food in there and this is why he had moved out. Now im worried that he is not eating enough, i give him one tablespoon of pets at home hamster museli a day which is what i was told when i brought him, but looking at the stash it looks like hes hardly eaten anything just stored it all.

Should i be concerned? or do you think he is eating enough i only cleaned him out on sunday.

Thanks xx

[Bethaniee]

All hamsters store food in their beds, its a natural instinct for them. They will take food out of their food bowl, stuff it in their pouches and keep it in their beds for when they're hungury. Hamsters don't eat very much, it sounds like you're giving him the right amount of food If you're really concerned try giving him some fresh veg/fruit and see if he eats it. Are his poos normal?

And my hamster does exactly the same as yours, he moved all his bedding from his igloo and built a nest in the corner of his cage. When I put his igloo in that corner he pushed the igloo out of the way and built his own nest. Some hamsters prefer to have an open nest I like watching him all snuggled up asleep

[Hope]

Hamsters do like to have a stash of food - it is a natural instict for them to hide away. They will often move their beds around too, and decide that they want to sleep somewhere else. You cant really make them stay in their 'bed'. Boris has several beds, one in a tissue box, one open nest and one under his wooden house. Phoebe has an igloo that she sleeps in most of the time (she also stashes food in here too) but sometimes will just curl up under her shelf in the open.

One tablespoon a day is quite alot for them to actually consume, most of it will get stored. As long as he is eating and doest appear to have any problems with his teeth etc that might prevent him from eating then I wouldnt worry too much.

Do be carful not to clean him out too often, this can be stressful especially if he is fairly new, they like to have their scents around them and cleaning gets rid of these familiar smells, so they have to go and rescent everything. I clean mine out every 2 weeks, and sometimes leave it a little longer if they are not too stinky! I do tend to clean out theor beds and pottys more often as they do tend to get damp and smelly, esp if they wee in their beds!