What are Impacted Cheek Pouches?
The nature of a hamster is to collect and hoard its food. It’s able to do this because of the two lateral cheek pouches on the sides of its mouths. When it goes about collecting food, it does so by stuffing its cheek pouches with seeds and other bits of food. On occasion these pouches can become impacted to the point where a hamster can’t empty it’s pouch full of food bits.
The Signs and Symptoms
If you notice one of your hamster’s cheek pouches as being full and it’s been like that for some time. it’s likely not a routine food collection and storage behavior. It’s more likely that a cheek pouch has become impacted. With more observation, if the head and neck appear swollen, the hamster is producing excessive saliva or it appears anorexic, it’s most likely a impaction.
Causes
Food, bedding or some other foreign material. Often with caged hamsters, an impaction of the cheek is caused by a food item that a hamster probably shouldn’t be eating in the first place like sweets.
Treat an Impaction
The natural method for a hamster to clear it’s pouches is to use its paws to push the food forward and out of the mouth. You can try to massage the impacted cheek to attempt to free the stuck food. If that doesn’t work, you might need to go into the mouth and physically remove the materials or try flushing the cheek with a salt water solution to help break the stuck materials (a local anesthetic might be needed). If all of these treatment methods fail or you don’t feel comfortable trying them yourself, a trip to your hamster vet is needed.
Author: Tim Winter
Hi, my hamster has managed to store a small magnet in her cheek. I know this because I found the poor thing stuck to the bars of her cage. My question is, do you think she will be able to remove it herself? It’s bank holiday weekend, so our vets are closed until Tuesday.
I saw your other reply and see that your hamster is okay now. good to hear.
My hamster had swollen cheekpouch, the 1st day, both his cheek pouch was swollen. later i fed him with natural unsweetened yogurt, his cheekpouch shrink a little, the next day, only right cheekpouch was swollen, then his right eye was sticky and has white liquid around it. later on, his eye was swollen and it cannot close its eye. the eye is dry and its popping out. and his cheek pouch is still swollen. i don’t know what to do. he doesn’t allowed me to take a look in his mouth.and he is smelly. it’s white fur are turning yellow. i’m staying very far from the vet. is there anything i can do to help him,instead of going to the vet?
A vet is probably the best option but if you can’t make it there, read this post on treating a sick hamster to help make it more comfortable. You need to make sure it is drinking water so it doesn’t get dehydrated. You might also try to clean the eye with a cloth soaked in lukewarm water. See hamster eye problems and hamster colds.
My Grandson’s Black Bear Hamster has had a swollen cheek pouch for about 2 weeks. I have been feeding him baby carrots and baby applesauce with crushed hamster food from a small dropper. The pouch was hard at first but is softer and not as large now. He eats like he is starved and has lost weight and sleeps more. I also trimmed his teeth. And he lets me hold a piece of ice on his jaw 3 times a day. The Vet. is closed until Tues. Morning. Is there anything I can do to help him get better.
First off, it sounds like you have done a good job of caring for the little guy by making sure it is still eating. Are saying it had impacted cheek pouches but now it’s getting better? If you think its cheek pouch is still impacted, you can try to massage the food out or use a salt water solution to to try and flush it out. Trimming the teeth was a good idea to since overgrown teeth can cause mouth problems if they get overgrown. Your hamster could have abscess in it cheek pouch which a vet can help drain. In the mean time, keep feeding the hamster and make sure it’s food that won’t be painful to eat; like shells from seeds. If you think it’s not getting enough vitamins and minerals, you can get some vitamin supplements. Some owners feed their sick hamsters natural unsweetened yogurt to help with digestive tract and help keep them hydrated. In terms of the pain, I think ice is the way to go. A vet could prescribe pain medicine but since hamsters are so small, it’s not wise to try and medicate them using pain relievers meant for people or even other pets like dogs or cats. For more help on this issue, you might try a hamster forum to get some opinions from those that have experience with this type of ailment. Best of Luck and let us know how it all turns out.
Thanks this information was very helpful. My hamster is getting on a bit so I was very worried. And BTW I love the banner
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