Smelly cheek pouch stash?

[xsimplicityx]

Hey everyone! I was wondering if anyone could help me out.

I have a 7 month old dwarf hamster named Sherlock who recently emptied out his pouch. His stash smell unusually bad and I'm not sure if it's because of a cheek pouch problem or if he accidentally stored some of his own poop in his cheeks which I read can happen lol. His right cheek has some things in it, but it does not look or feel abnormal. Nor is Sherlock acting unusual or displaying any signs of illness like squinty watery eyes. His mouth smells a little bit, but only from the traces of what he emptied out. Still, should I be concerned? I'm terrified he might have an infection that I just don't know about.

[racinghamster]

Hi simplicity, welcome to the forum. The advice I would give is monitor this over the next 24/48 hours and watch his behaviour. If you are not happy, I would book a vets appointment just to have a vet feel his pouches and check for any signs of a problem. If he isn`t pawing at his cheek all the time as if frustrated that he can`t empty it, I would think he is fine. But obviously keep a watchful eye on him. The smell could be due to something like eating or pouching dry poo, although I can`t say I`ve seen my hamsters pouch their pelleted poo, they usually either bend over and eat it as it comes out (fresh!), or they just poo it out.

Hope this helps, but as I said, if his behaviour seems agitated or he is pawing at the pouch as if to empty it but can`t, see a vet. x

[DrKMcK]

Hello xsimplicityX, and Welcome to hamster central. I'm with racinghamster on this one. Keep an eye on it and see how he does. The fact that the smell was enough to alert you to it means something is different. Check his cage for stashes he may have peed on. They do that sometimes.

[Esmy]

My vet found an abscess in Gizmo's cheek pouch during a routine check. He had a clump of seeds embedded in the pouch. She cleaned it with a swab and it oozed yellow and red and had a really bad smell. Keep an eye out for wetness of yellow or red around the mouth. If you're still concerned, you can have a vet check. Hopefully it's nothing to be worried about!