Mechanical behavior of hydrate‐bearing sediments is critical for well stability, reservoir deformation, and sea floor settlement during gas production. Current understanding on the mechanism of hydrate strengthening hosting sediments relies on conceptual models based on idealistic pore‐scale assumptions. Yet pore‐scale study is rare and limited to hydrate‐bearing sediments formed with surrogate guest molecules rather than methane. We present for the first time pore‐scale triaxial test results of methane hydrate‐bearing sediments. Besides the traditional stress‐strain relationship, we further explored (1) sand particle crushing and (2) pressure‐temperature dependent strength variations and (3) creep of hydrate‐bearing sediments. Results show that as hydrate enables the sand skeleton to bear additional loads, the potential of sand crushing upon hydrate dissociation also increases. Strength of hydrate‐bearing sediments decreases as pressure‐temperature condition approaches hydrate phase boundary. Hydrate‐bearing sediments creep and heal with time. The new observations suggest additional complications to be considered during gas production. Plain Language Summary The presence of solid hydrate in sediment pores is known to enhance the strength of hosting sediments, similar to the effect of ice in frozen sediments. However, our understanding on the mechanism of increased strength still relies on simplified conceptual models based on idealistic pore‐scale assumptions. Direct visualization of pore‐scale hydrate behavior can greatly advance our knowledge on this issue, yet studies are rare and conducted with surrogate gas hydrates due to challenges (1) to maintain the stability of hydrate under high pressure and low temperature, (2) to visualize the specimen with high resolution while the specimen is housed inside high‐pressure core holders, and (3) to distinguish methane hydrate from other pore constituents in CT images. We overcome these issues and conducted three experiments on specimens with different hydrate saturations. Our results highlight that the presence of hydrate strengthens the sediments by (1) providing supports for the original sediment skeleton and (2) forming hydrate skeletons to directly bear the load, especially when the hydrate saturation is high. In addition, our results show massive sand crushing, temperature‐pressure‐dependent specimen strength, creeping, and healing of hydrate‐bearing sediments. Key Points Higher hydrate saturation increases the load‐bearing capacity of sediments, hence the potential of sand crushing Hydrate‐bearing sediments degrade gradually as the pressure‐temperature approaches hydrate phase boundary and can fail catastrophically Hydrate‐bearing sediments creep, therefore induce reservoir deformation with time and meanwhile heal to partially regain strength