Like all animals, hamsters have their quirks. Stuffing their cheeks with food, running on wheels, doing backflips—all adorable hamster behaviors that we love. But what’s arguably the weirdest?
Hamsters do eat their poop. This behavior is called “coprophagy” or “cecotrophy,” and it’s observed in different animals, including mice, rats, chinchillas, rabbits, guinea pigs, and even horses. It might be gross, but it’s a very common behavior.
This article will explore why your pet hamster consumes fecal matter and why you shouldn’t worry when this happens.
Why Do Hamsters Eat Their Poop?
Hamsters eat their poop to completely digest all the nutrients in their food. Unlike other animals, hamsters have digestive systems that can’t absorb all vitamins and minerals in one pass. Their excrements still contain nutrients that they need to stay healthy.
Hamsters are omnivores, although they eat a vegetable-rich diet. Vegetables and plants are high in fiber, which is particularly difficult to digest. For this reason, hamsters, like other veggie-eating mammals, have a caecum, which is where the food goes after it leaves the small intestine.
The caecum houses special bacteria which help to break down the fiber (cellulose) in plant matter. After that, the food moves into the large intestine, which isn’t really designed to absorb many nutrients. Thus, when the food is excreted (pooped out) the poop is soft and still contains quite a lot of nutrients.
This soft poop is called caecotrophs or night feces. Hamsters can smell the nutrients in their caecotrophs and instinctively know that their bodies need them, so they eat their feces.
The second time the poop comes out, it will be hard, dry, and devoid of nutrients. The hamster will not eat it again.
Is It Normal For Hamsters To Eat Their Own Poop?
It is very normal for hamsters to eat their own poop. In fact, hamsters need to eat their own poop to absorb certain vitamins and nutrients from their food. For example, vitamin B12 is something hamsters cannot absorb from their food without digesting the food twice.
Even if they did not need to eat their own poop to avoid malnutrition, hamsters would probably still do it because their poop contains undigested food.
Similar to other rodents, hamsters are known to hoard and store food in case of emergency. In other words, they aren’t likely to let good food go to waste—even if they’ve already eaten it once!
As a result, hamsters will sometimes hide stockpiles of their own poop much as they would hide fresh, uneaten food. They are saving it for later!
Should You Try to Stop Hamsters From Eating Their Poop?
You should not try to stop your hamsters from eating their poop. It’s a natural behavior that hamsters must engage in to support their health and nutrition. If you prevent them from eating their poop, you cause your hamster to be malnourished and develop health issues.
However, hamsters don’t eat their poop constantly. If you notice your hamster is eating their poop really frequently, they may not be getting enough nutrition from the food you’re giving them.
Make sure to provide your hamster with high-quality food pellets formulated specifically for hamsters, and supplement their diet with fresh veggies and greens every day.
Giving them fresh fruits, nuts, and seeds is also recommended once or twice a week. However, fruits are high in sugar, and nuts are high in fat, so don’t overdo it! Too much fat and sugar will result in health issues like diabetes and a shortened lifespan for your hamster.
What To Do if Your Hamster Holds Its Poop Often
Hamsters do not typically play with their poop. However, they may use it for things other than eating, including marking their territory to keep other hamsters away.
If you notice your hamster holding or carrying poop often but not eating it, the hamster may be experiencing stress or boredom. It’s not totally clear why handling their poop is a common behavior for stressed hamsters, but resolving the behavior can be as simple as:
- Getting a bigger enclosure
- Providing enrichment
- Moving the enclosure to a quieter spot
Get a Larger Enclosure
Hamsters may be small, but they have a lot of energy and need to move around a lot. In the wild, they run, dig, and forage for food.
If their enclosure is too small, hamsters cannot engage in their natural behaviors and may become stressed from boredom. In this situation, a larger cage or enclosure is essential.
The US Humane Society states that the minimum cage size for all hamsters should be 2 feet x 2 feet (61 cm x 61 cm).
However, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) recommends a minimum of 200 square inches (1,290 square centimeters) for hamsters, regardless of breed. That’s more than twice the size!
Whatever enclosure you choose, the larger, the better. The more space you provide for your hamster, the happier your hamster will be—and the less time they will spend messing around with their own poop!
Provide Enrichment
Providing proper nutrition and a large enclosure isn’t enough. Your hamster needs stimulation. Having space to run around is all well and good, but if there’s nothing else to do, your hamster will get bored.
You can provide enrichment by giving your hamster:
- A running wheel
- Structures to climb
- Deep bedding to tunnel through
- Hidden treats to forage for throughout the enclosure
- Treat puzzles designed for small animals
Overall, your hamster’s enrichment should allow them to mimic wild behaviors as closely as possible. This will keep them stimulated and happy, so they don’t become fixated on their poop.
Move the Enclosure
Sometimes stress and territorial behavior (i.e., handling their poop) can be triggered by the environment outside the cage. Hamsters are prey animals, so loud noises, constant activity, and the presence of other animals can stress them considerably.
If your hamster is showing signs of stress, you may need to move the enclosure to a quieter area. Make sure they are not exposed to:
- Daily traffic
- Other pets
- Young children
- Bright lights
- Loud noises
- Extreme temperatures
Some hamsters have bold and confident personalities and can handle these things, but many do not. Keeping your hamster’s enclosure somewhere protected can improve their quality of life and prevent them from engaging in unwanted behaviors like obsessively handling their own poop.
Final Thoughts
Hamsters eat their own poop. It’s gross, but it’s natural. They need to do it to get certain nutrients from their food, such as vitamin B12.
You shouldn’t try to stop your hamster from eating its poop, but you can minimize how much they do it by:
- Providing high-quality hamster pellets
- Giving daily fresh greens and vegetables
- Giving weekly snacks of fresh fruit
- Giving weekly treats of nuts and seeds
You can also help to prevent stress-related poop-handling behaviors by providing the following:
- A large enclosure
- Plenty of enrichment
- Keeping the cage in a quiet/safe environment