This X-ray Shows How Hamsters Can Fit So Much Food in Their Tiny Cheeks

Thanks to the Internet, we’ve seen tiny hamsters eat tiny burritos, tiny pizzas and tiny Thanksgiving dinners. We’ve even seen tiny hamsters best competitive eating champion Kobayashi in a food face-off and watch them feast in a tiny mansion. But what is going on inside their tiny heads and tiny mouths while they eat those giant meals?

A recent BBC documentary takes you inside a hamster’s mouth via x-ray, revealing what is happening inside that tiny head while it fills its cheeks with those burritos, pizzas or whatever else it is having for lunch. The documentary, Pets Wild At Heart, which is narrated by once-and-future Doctor Who David Tennant, explains that hamsters come equipped with built-in travel coolers — incredibly stretchy cheek pouches that stretch all the way down to their hips. The cute little rodents can also turn off their saliva glands, which means they can preserve their fancy feasts for any time they are feeling peckish. That probably explains why hamsters aren’t allowed anywhere near the Sizzler salad bar.