Hamster Facts (Part 3)

Pouches

Hamsters have pouches in their checks.  The pouches are folds of stretchy skin that reach from their lips to their shoulders.  Hamsters like to stuff their pouches with food and bedding material and carry back to their burrows.

During feeding time, I noticed that both Fluffy & Roof would usually eat their favorite food first and then stuff the bigger pieces or hard nuts/corn into their pouches and then ran quickly back to their “warehouse”. Sometime the food they carried made their heads looked “double” in size.  When I do the weekly clean up, I will usually find hidden dry food at their “warehouse”.

Pieces of sharp food may sometime damage the lining in a hamster’s cheek pouches. Food can also stuck inside the pouch and cause infection.  Your hamsters need to visit the vet to take care of such problems.  Best to avoid giving hamsters sticky food like sweets and chocolates and also big sharp hard nuts.

Hair

Hamsters have different types of hair.  Some have long fluffy hair, some short and one rare breed of Syrian hamster is completely hairless!  Chinese hamsters have a dark stripe running down their back, “winter-white” Russian hamster has a coat of pure white hair.


Babies 

Most female hamsters can have a lot of babies (from 8 to as many as 26, depending on which type of hamsters).  Average weight of each newborn baby is about the same as a teaspoon of flour (2.5 to 3g) or lesser.  The mother will nurse her babies with milk for three weeks and then the young hamsters will start to eat adult food.


Thus, it is best not to remove any baby hamsters from their mother before they are four weeks old.  I brought home both my hamsters from the pet shop when they were slightly over five weeks of age.

Fast Facts:

• Hamsters have four toes on each front feet and five toes on each of their back feet.