Will Bernie eat himself to death?

[Jenibelle]

This may sound silly, but I know certain dog breeds will literally eat themselves to death. Has a hamster even done the same?

Bernie seems to eat nearly constantly when he's not asleep. Granted I'm asleep mostly when he is awake, but when we are up at the same time he is nearly always in his food bowl munching away. He goes on his wheel still, but it doesn't seem like he's going on as much as before. Also, I literally caught him napping in his food bowl the other day, so that he could continue eating when he got up... easy access! haha. It was adorable, but I'm wondering if there is a problem?

I refill his bowl when empty, every few days.

[freyashamsters]

I doubt a hamster can eat itself to death but it can lead to obesity and that can trigger further health problems.

What I'd recommend doing is gradually reducing the amount you feed and picking a few bits out of the hoard every day - keep doing this until you reach a consistent amount

[cypher]

Maybe you just tend to be up at food time!
Hams aren't like dogs & don't often over eat, they're more likely to just hoard any excess & if you feed him the right amount which it sounds as though you probably are he can't over eat anyway.
You could stop using a bowl & scatter feed or hide food around the cage so he has to forage for it.

[souffle]

He is most likely just sorting through it and deciding what to store. They won't overeat and fed a proper balanced diet will eat what they need and store the rest. When you clean out you should find an adequate store. Not a huge amount and not nothing at all. They need to have a store for their mental wellbeing. Having nothing causes stress.
Adjust your feeding accordingly so that he has a decent store. I wouldn't reduce or pick out bits as this will unbalance it.

[freyashamsters]

Good point Soufflé - I was only suggesting that if it looked oversized