--- description: From the BBC Documentary Pets Wild at Heart title: How Hamsters Fit Food in Their Cheeks via Xray image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This X-ray Shows How Hamsters Can Fit So Much Food in Their Tiny Cheeks by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 16, 2015 4:12 PM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 16, 2015 4:12 PM CUT Thanks to the Internet, we’ve seen tiny hamsters eat [tiny burritos](http://time.com/83362/watch-tiny-hamsters-eat-tiny-burritos/ "undefined"), [tiny pizzas ](http://time.com/92444/watch-a-tiny-hamster-eat-a-tiny-slice-of-pizza/ "undefined")and [tiny Thanksgiving dinners](http://time.com/3592591/tiny-hamster-thanksgiving/ "undefined"). We’ve even seen [tiny hamsters best ](http://time.com/3393272/tiny-hamster-kobayashi/ "undefined")competitive eating champion Kobayashi in a food face-off and watch them feast in [a tiny mansion](http://time.com/3175574/tiny-hamster-tiny-mansion/ "undefined"). But what is going on inside their tiny heads and tiny mouths while they eat those giant meals? A recent [BBC documentary](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b050d3fx "undefined") 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_](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b050d3fx "undefined"), 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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3671537/how-hamsters-fit-food-in-their-cheeks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3671537/how-hamsters-fit-food-in-their-cheeks/"},"headline":"This X-ray Shows How Hamsters Can Fit So Much Food in Their Tiny Cheeks","datePublished":"2015-01-16T16:12:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:16:01.296Z","description":"From the BBC documentary Pets Wild At Heart","url":"https://time.com/3671537/how-hamsters-fit-food-in-their-cheeks/","keywords":["Newsfeed","medicine","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3671537/how-hamsters-fit-food-in-their-cheeks/","name":"This X-ray Shows How Hamsters Can Fit So Much Food in Their Tiny Cheeks"}}]}] ```