The Roborovski dwarf hamster is the smallest hamster in the world, maxing out at just under 3 inches long. This isn’t the only thing that makes “Robos” unique. They have the longest lifespan of any other pet hamster, up to 3-1/2 years. I also find their white eyebrows to be extremely endearing.
I started my own Robo family in 2007 with a pair named Reepicheep and Ratatouille. I read that Robos enjoy each other’s company and do well in groups, so I decided to breed them. When they were old enough, they had 2 litters of 4 babies each. They got along well, with a noisy little scuffle every now and then, until the first litter of babies was almost a year old.
They started fighting constantly, even causing some serious wounds. Before I knew it, I had hamsters in seven different Crittertrails and an aquarium. I was baffled by my hamster family’s fighting, so I decided to talk to other Robo owners and found that many were having similar aggression issues. Luckily, all my co-workers love animals; it wasn’t hard to find homes for my Robos. I tried in vain for months to discover who was compatible by using cage dividers, trial, and error. Ratatouille even started chasing Reepicheep and had to be separated. The females all had to be re-homed individually, because apparently, they don’t like company at all. The males were less aggressive; some paired up easily. I kept two of the brothers, Felix and Mookie, who have proven to be peaceful friends.
My Robos are very energetic and playful, running almost constantly when awake or not eating. Robos are the fastest of the pet hamsters and need a lot of room to exercise. (Notice in the photo, he’s running so fast his feet aren’t even touching!) I keep my two males in a 55 gallon aquarium with two wheels, and this seems to be enough for them. They are awake during the day more often than other hamsters, but are still mostly nocturnal. I am an extremely light sleeper, but don’t worry - the Silent Spinner wheels they have are absolutely noiseless.
I’ve never been bitten by one of my Robos, but they are super squirmy and don’t hesitate to jump out of my hand every chance they get. I am very careful and try to only handle them in their cage. They don’t seem to mind being touched and petted on the rare occasion they’re not running at full speed.
Their fur is thick and soft, and like other hamsters, they groom obsessively. If their fur starts to look oily, I let them roll around in some Critter Bath Powder. They appear to really enjoy these dust-baths, and it’s an interesting natural behavior to observe.
Robos are really different from all the other hamster species I’ve kept. Their high activity level makes them fun to watch, but difficult to handle and play with. I don’t think they’d make good pets for younger children for that reason. An older, more mature child (or adult) who would rather watch them than pick them up might be a better Robo keeper.
Roborovski hamsters have only been available to pet owners in the U.S. for a few years, so not a lot is known about them yet. If you have a Roborovski hamster, please leave a comment. I would love to hear about your experiences.
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I have a robohamster and she is the sweetest little thing. Since day one she has been a blessing. She is very fst in her cage but when I take her out she will lay on my chest and sleep for up to 20 minutes or more. She loves to be petted and to relax with me. She never bites and is so affectionate. She is nothing like the websites ive looked at describe. she has never tried to jump from my hands. She actualy likes to spend time with me. I dont have to xhase her around her cage she lets me pick her up. Ive only had for about 1 month and I just love her.
we just got our hamster today.this sure did help us
I was concerned because my son’s hamster has been chirping off and on. It could be, sometimes, when we talk to her (look over her cage). Is she scared?
My robo bites all the time! Help, anyone?
I have a 2 year old male robo who is the life of me. He is so tame it is almost unbelievable. I have trained him to kiss me and cuddle with me. He will sit on my shoulder for 2 hours without moving. He never bites and just loves me to pieces. I let him out outside once a week for an hour to graze, but he just won’t leave my side. We also like to share apple bits together. He sits in my lap until he is done eating and then he tries to take more bites out of my slice. He is the best gift god could ever give to me. I love my robo.
Hey how are you ive recently bought a robo hamster and he seem to be barely a 2 or 3 months old and i would like for him to feel great and at home could you give me some tips?
We have 2 Robo hamsters..well I should say did! They have been great. My youngest child is 8 and all of my kids get great joy out of them. One did bite at first..not a hard, hurtful bite but the more we held them they stopped. I hope I helped some of you with your questions..now I have one of my own. I read about their aggression, but I came home from church today to find one of them dead..looks like the other ate it! Is this possible?. They have lived in the same cage for almost 2 monthes and seemed to be fine..
im geting a robo hamster tomorrow any advice
Thanks for the information! Now I know more about robo hamsters. Mine is named Squealy and he just came to our family yesterday. He is adorable!
I have a robo hamster and I love her I am only 11 but I sure know how to take care of my hamster she never bit me before so I think she’s very great.
i have a pair of robo and the female gave birth to 4 last sunday .. i was weird to see that the female ate 2 of her babies the 2nd day they born.. and it dont wan t0 feed to her other 2 babies..so that a baby was dead of starving 2dy morning..it’s 4th day 2day..n the last baby is just left by alone of it.. the mommy robo dun even care about it..im so worried about of it..
i Have a little hamster 4 months old
hes a male hamster named Whiskers* he has long whiskkers so might as well name him that. i got him as a present because i had a dwarf hamster before & he died trying to get out of the cage & choked :’( i was upset crying for 3 days. now i have Whiskers hes the sweetest thing ever <333
I got a robohamster the other day! It is so cute! Sadly though, I put him in some water, and he shorted out. RIP Robot Hamster.
I got 3 robo hamsters from my friend yesterday, im 15, and most of whats on here is true about them . They seem to get along though because one is a mother and two of them babies, they are really fun though! There my first hamsters and i cant wait to learn more about them.
I just got a robo hampster today for my 12yr old daughter. The information from this site has really helped. Thank you.
I have previously Been a hamster owner and I’m going to get another. My hamster cheeks, died over a month ago and although my mum says it’s too soon, I really want a hamster. But his time I want a robo hamster. They were my intential breed but th man at pets at home said they are not very good first time hamsters. I would like a hamster to hold and spend time with, not watch like you said in your blog. So do you think I should get a hamster?? Thank you xx
I would like to get a robo. Thanks for the info!
So i got two female robos about 2 months ago. Their the sweetest little things one named cocoa the other named huney. And about 4 days ago, i got a male fancy russian dwarf. I was just wondering if its possible to breed the two? Plz help!!
Olivia, Congratulations on your Robo hamsters. No, it’s not possible to breed Robos with Russian dwarfs. In fact, it would be dangerous to mix the two species together. Good luck with them
I really need help telling if my robos are boy or girls. I breed rats, mice, and now gerbils and robo hamsters. I am 14. I just can’t tell if these young robos are male or female. I have there parents also and there parents have a 3 2 week old babies. But these ones are a little older and I need help telling if there boys or girls.
I have 3 robo hamsters Coco Bentley and Dallas all males and I love all of my hammies soo much I have 6 critter trail cages and they are all attached by tubes so they can have fun in each of them coco bites only when he is uncomfortable but other then that they are all very sweet and all love to cuddle with me while I’m n bed and sleep with me for up to 2 hours I love my hamsters:)
I just got one yesterday. They are very squirmy.
Hi, Im 11 and im thinking about getting a robo as my first hamster. The reason I want a robo is because they are cute,small,fast,and fun. Plus, they’re really active so i don’t have to worry about having a fat lazy hamster who doesen’t like to play! I really wanna get a robo as my first. Should I get a robo as my first or a Golden hamster??
I have a Robo who is about 5 months old, I wish I could find him a friend, but when I tried to bring him close to another one he nibbled at me as if to say ‘no way, I don’t like this one bit.’ so I have yet to find him a buddy. His name is Hampton, and unlike yours he loves being held, as long as you give him both hands, I think it is because I held him from the start every day until he stopped jumping out of my hands. He absolutely loves dried fruit, kiwi the best, pineapple hardly at all, and he is a picky eater with his different seeds, seems to hate closed spaces (kinda odd but true) and does not drink more than once or twice a day. I love this little guy.
I am getting a robo hammie today or tomrrow. I have prevoiusly had 2 in the same cage and Fluffy ate Sugar Cookie right next to the food bowl. I am guessing that they were both males and that Fluffy had some guarding issues.
i just got a robo hamster yesterday and i think i made a really bad decision robo hamsters are not good pets the are very scared and dont let you touch then i recently had a teddy bear hamster and it was the sweetest thing it let me hold it and love for me to it next time someone gets a hamster they should get a teddy bear one
We bought two of these little guys last night. My bf is extremely asthmatic and for some reason it kicked up really bad after spending a night with them. Also, Herbert( his hamster) bit him. That’s all that i know of so far but they seem to be quite endearing :3
Hello,
I found your site on Google and I decided to kindly ask for your advice.
I own two Robos, with completely different behaviours: one of them is very energetic, not shy at all, I believe he is the dominant one. The other one had the same behavior at first, but now, after about 3 weeks of co-habitation, has become extremely shy, he does not leave his hiding place at all, does not run so much and he isn t even curious of the food i sprinkle in the cage.
Even during daytime, if not asleep, the energetic one comes out, eats if i handle some food within their cage, runs, all-in-all, he is active even throughout the day. The second one is completely absent at daytime. Even at night, he gets scared and runs at the slightest move I make towards them, while his mate remains out and curious, and I believe he is scared of me and what`s outside his cage, and not of his mate.
I did not have the chance to notice them during night time, but a couple of evenings ago I noticed he was out, but stood still for a very long period of time, did not get scared and run as usual (which made me think he had difficulties walking), even if I poked him, he would move only a little bit. When he moved, he did not limp or fall, but simply stood unexplicably still.
I would appreciate your advice regarding the timid hamster.
1. Is it normal that he stays still for so long? Or should I suspect some disease or affection?
2. If he is not as active as his mate, and does not move, is it something to worry about, or is he rather lazy?
I`m looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Hi I bought a robo hammy today but sadly stoped moving breathing heavy and twitching and did not move from the bottom of the cage for 4 hours even when I tried moving her sand she was gasping for breath i have a Syrian hammy but and know about her but I just saw. This robo in the shop today and I have a spare cage so I got her but I don’t know anything about her or what happened to her also do they need to be kept warm thanks for your time kindest regards Sam
My robo died last night hadn’t even had it a day rest in peace safi the robo hammy
So I recently bought my robo and named him Cheesecake, he is just too sweet, but everytime I hold him he dumps everything he has stuffed in his cheeks into my hand. It doesn’t matter what it is if I pick him up it’s going to go into my hand, Its kinda gross but sweet at the same time I guess cause I feel like he’s trying to fees me or something can anyone tell me why he is doing this?
hi i am karens kid hayley i have a robo dorf hamster named katy all she does is go on her wheel and sit on my hand and eat she naver bites and she is a very good pet
Hey!
I’ve been reading a lot about robo hamies and I think I want to get one. I would like to ask for some tips because I’ve had very bad experiences with my previous hamsters (all were syrian) and I would like to have a good relationship with this one.
Please reply,
Naiomi
Each of my children hot a Robo for a pet. I had golden as a child and remember how much I loved my hammy. Anyways, they were siblings and before we knew it we had 5 babies. I am having a terrible time sexing them and trying to separate them before we have more litters. They are almost 4 weeks old and it is nearly impossible to figure out the sex of each. I have examined their genitals several times and they appear to be all the same but I can’t believe we could have a litter with all males. So, any tips on sexomg or know the earliest they can breed? I need to find new homes for the babies before I have even more.Thanks.
Harmony: This website has information on how to sex both adult hamsters and pups. I hope it will be helpful to you: http://ehs.uc.edu/lams/data/pdfs/9029.pdf . Hamsters reach puberty in 3 weeks or less, about the time they are weaned.
I have 2 Robos. They are Minmei and Lisa. They are extremely curious and freak out when I take out their food bowl to rinse and replenish. I find Lisa to be the dominant one and they do have a noisy scuffle every now and then.
I have a robo. Mine likes cheese. Is there any other foods it likes?
Thanks!
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