Oak Farm Roborovskis

Roborovskis Show Details, Schedules & Results* - Show Standard
*Coming soon

Breeding Roborovski Hamsters

I have been breeding Roborovski Hamsters since 2001 and during this time I have found out a lot of information by speaking to other breeders and by actually observing the various stages of the breeding process of Roborovskis. As time has gone by I have discovered my own way of doing things and all of the information I write here is relevant to my own methods. Other breeders will have their own methods too. If you are thinking of starting to breed Roborovskis then it is a good idea to read about the methods of different breeders and to speak to different breeders too – you can then find out what is best for you.

My main aim when breeding Roborovskis is to produce tame and healthy Roborovski babies who meet the required Show Standard. Of course, not all of the babies born here are suitable for showing, but they are all very healthy, tame and friendly, and will make absolutely wonderful pets – and these are the babies which are available for you to give a lovely forever home to! Occasionally, I also have Roborovski babies available simply due to the fact that I do not have space at the time to keep them, or due to the fact that I have already kept babies from the same litter.

Preparing for a litter

Unfortunately, breeding Roborovski Hamsters is not just as simple as placing a male and female into the same cage and letting them mate. A lot of thought needs to go into who to mate with whom – potential mates need to compliment each other to be able to produce the best possible babies.

The hard work actually begins way before actually pairing up a male and a female. Both hamsters should be from reputable breeders who keep reliable background information on their hamsters. Each hamster should have at least three generations of known ancestors on their Pedigree.

Once you have decided which two hamster you will be pairing up, you then need to prepare both hamsters for the mating, pregnancy and rearing of a litter. Both the male and the female need to be in peak condition before they are placed into the same cage. This is done by supplying them with extra protein and vitamins in the form of well cooked egg – scrambled or boiled, small pieces of plain, cooked chicken, small pieces of fresh fruit, and other carefully chosen foods which can all have a little ‘Brewers Yeast’ added to them. These ‘extras’ help to make sure both hamsters are healthy whilst also making sure that the males fertility levels are at their best, and preparing the females body for pregnancy. Continue feeding these foods, in small amounts, once you have paired up the male and the female, and also during the pregnancy, birth and rearing of the litter – the mother will benefit greatly from them as they will help her cope with the added stress on her body whilst rearing a litter.

It is always best to wait until the female Roborovski is over the age of four months, as it would not do her any good to get pregnant at a very early age. I have only rarely known Roborovski females to have litters before they have been through their first winter, but this may be because my hamsters are kept in a shed, and therefore go through the different seasons with changes in temperature and hours of daylight each day. A lot of breeders, who keep their hamsters in artificially heated and lighted conditions, report that their Roborovskis will mate and produce young at any time during the year, so it is always best to make sure that females are not kept with males between the ages of 4 and 16 weeks.

Once you have decided who to mate, and once the female is the correct age, it is time to pair them up – as long as they have both been checked to make sure they are 100% healthy.

Introducing

As Roborovskis are very social, you will usually have no problems with introducing two of them to each other, especially not when introducing males to females. The first thing you need to do is completely clean out the cage with a safe pet disinfectant – bleach and warm water will work just as well, but you MUST make sure you completely rinse away any traces of the bleach! The purpose of this is to completely remove any scent of the previous occupants. Any toys or accessories also need to be free of scents of other hamsters too.

The first thing you need to do is put a deep layer of shavings (or the substrate you use) over the floor of the cage and then mix in a good two or three handfuls of food – making sure to spread the food and shavings out completely over the cage floor. Do not use a food dish or bowl, as they can easily become territorial over it. You then need to put in two water bottles or bowls – if you use bowls they must be removed and replaced with bottles before any babies start to wander around the cage – I have had babies drown in water bowls before – it definitely does happen!! Finally you can then add some nesting material, and then add the hamsters! Nothing else should be added at this stage.

The male and the female can both be placed into the cage at the same time, but they will need to be watched extremely carefully for any signs of fighting. They will probably sniff each other a lot and maybe even ‘box’ each other too. There will probably be a lot of squeaking, and they will probably chase each other a lot too. All of this is completely normal behaviour and it should stop within a day or too. If at any time blood is drawn, or there is a visible cut or wound, they should be separated straight away and the whole process repeated again at another time. Please see the Reintroducing page for further information and help on this subject.

If, after a few days, there is no squeaking or boxing, it should be safe to start adding toys and wheels to the cage. Always add two of each type of toy, as this reduces the chance of them starting to squabble, and always try to add only one type of toy every few days or every week – as it will then be easier to determine what might have caused any squabbles or arguments. The offending toy can then be removed and retried at a later date.

A bonded pair

Conception, Gestation and Birth

The time of year, temperature and hours of daylight are all very important factors to consider when breeding Roborovskis. As I have already mentioned, my hamsters are kept in a shed, so I can only write about my own methods and findings. My Roborovskis do not usually breed between December and March – I find that the breeding season is usually between April and November, so once the temperature drops and there are less hours of daylight, they usually stop breeding – this could be due to the males becoming temporarily sterile in the cold temperatures, or it could be that the females do not come into season when the temperatures are low.

I have found Roborovskis to be very choosy when deciding to mate – some Roborovski pairs will stay together for life without producing any babies. Other pairs will only breed once they have been together for a long time, but some pairs hit off straight away and will produce babies almost immediately. Each individual hamster has their own personality and some pairs will get on better than others.

Unlike when mating Syrian hamsters, you will not see a Roborovski female ‘stand’ when she is ready to mate. Male and female Roborovski hamsters will often ‘mount’ other Roborovskis of the same and opposite sex to show dominance, so even though you may see what looks like ‘mating’, it does not necessarily mean that babies are on the way.

Once the male successfully mates with the female, she will give birth in approx. 21 days time. Obviously if you do not see the actual mating you will not be able to plan for the exact day of the birth. A Roborovski female will only begin to ‘show’ that she is pregnant at the very end of her pregnancy – usually from day 17 or 18, but this is usually only if she is having a large litter.

A heavily pregnant female – ‘bulging’ tummy and prominent nipples.

Preferably, the cage should be cleaned out a few days before the birth of a litter, but this may not be possible if the female is not ‘showing’. The wheel needs to be removed preferably before the litter is born, to prevent the babies from being born in the wheel, or carried to the wheel by the parents – this can be very dangerous if one of the adults attempts to run in the wheel with the babies!! The cage must be observed and listened to very carefully to determine if any babies have been born so that the wheel can be removed.

Some kind of house can be placed in the cage for the nest to be made in and the babies to be born in, but it is not necessary as the parents will choose a corner in which to make the nest anyway. Sometimes Roborovski who are used to a wheel will do laps around the cage at full speed when the wheel is taken from them – this can be dangerous if the nest has been made at the edge of the cage, as the parents will trample over the nest and babies when running – so you may need to provide a house if this does happen.

Roborovskis can have between 1 and 8 babies, although 4 to 6 babies is more common. You will soon know when you have babies as they make a lot of noise, which sounds like ‘chirping’! Once you know that babies have been born, you should not disturb the nest at all – and only go near the cage when it is absolutely necessary. Obviously water bottles need to be topped up and food needs to be added, but try and make sure that this is done at the opposite end of the cage to the nest, and that it is done as quickly and quietly as possible. All of the food ‘extras’ mentioned above can still be given, and should be increased once the babies are over a week old, as the parents will take food into the nest for the babies. The bigger the babies get the more noise they will make – especially when food is taken to the nest!

Please see the Litter Development page for photos of babies at various ages.

The babies’ eyes will begin to open once they are around 12 to 14 days old and they will probably begin to wander around the cage a few days before their eyes open. Once all of the babies’ eyes are open and they are all spending time out of the nest it is usually safe to clean out the cage. This should be done as quickly as possible to reduce the stress for the parents. It is also a good idea to keep some of the old nest to put back in with the new nesting material – just so the parents don’t feel completely lost.

At this time it is also safe to start handling the babies, but be prepared for them to be very jumpy! It is best to handle them over a large box of shavings or very close to the floor, as they do have a tendency to jump out of your hands. From the time they are two and a half weeks old they should be handled as much as possible each day so that they become used to being handled and become tame and friendly towards humans. It might take a few days or weeks for them to get used to being handled – but it is well worth the time and patience in the end.

Should the Father be removed?

The adult male Roborovski hamster makes an excellent father if left in the cage with the female and her babies. He will help the female to make the nest and you will often see him taking food to the mother and babies. He will also put up with the female’s ‘moods’ and sometimes ends up ‘sulking’ in a corner until she decides he can come back into the nest.

You may think he is very kind and loving to do so much and put up with so much too, but he is, in fact, very clever, and does all of this just to be close to the female when she comes back into season, so that he can mate with her once again!

The female Roborovski will come into season again on the very day that she gives birth, and she can continue to produce a litter of babies every 21 days if the male is left in the cage with her. Obviously it is not good for her to be continuously pregnant and continuously feeding babies. Some females cope with being pregnant and rearing a litter much better than others and you need to keep a close eye on her to make sure she is coping ok. If the female looks like she is in good condition, not too thin, or too tired, then you might decide that she would cope ok with another litter, so you could then leave the male in while she gives birth to and rears the first litter. You must remove him though before she gives birth to the second litter, as I believe that having three litters back to back would just be too much!!

A Second Litter

The female is quite capable of rearing both litters at the same time, but I usually remove the first litter, as I always worry about the new litter getting enough milk – especially the first few hours of milk, as this is the most important milk for the newborns. I probably worry too much, as obviously numerous litters live together in the wild and the mother probably prevents the older litter from taking too much milk anyway, but I prefer to use this method, as it puts me at ease.

I nearly always remove the older litter, especially if it is a big litter, so I know that by the time baby Roborovski hamsters are 21 days old they are completely capable of living without their mother. The timing needs to be right though – and it can be tricky to remove them at the correct time. I have found that if the oldest litter is removed too early, the mother gets very stressed looking for them, but if you leave them in until the moment she gives birth or just after then she has too much to worry about with the new litter to get stressed over where the older litter have gone. Of course this is a very stressful time for the mother when she is giving birth to the new litter, so you don’t want to disturb her too much, so I sometimes remove all of the older litter, except one, on the day before she is due to give birth – so then it only takes a few seconds to remove the one older baby the next day, once she has given birth again, instead of having to remove a whole litter.

When I decide to rest a female, I always try to leave at least one of her female babies with her so that she is not lonely – if this is not possible then I will sometimes pair up two adult females.

Re homing the babies

At three weeks old the babies are capable of living without their mother, so can be taken from her and put into a new cage. Male and female babies can live together for another week to help them get over being taken from their mother, but they must be split into single sex groups by the time they are 28 days old, to prevent the females from becoming pregnant.

They should be given as much food as they can eat at this stage together with a variety of ‘extras’ too. There should be one wheel for each hamster in each cage, and lots of toys, tubes and boxes for them to play in. Each hamster should be handled 2 or 3 times each day to get them used to being handled and they should also be checked every day to make sure they are healthy and growing well.

I do not rehome my babies until they are over 7 weeks old, sometimes not until they are 10 weeks old if I think they will benefit from another few weeks with their siblings. You will soon learn to know when they are ready to go to their new homes – just make sure they are healthy, tame and friendly enough.

Colony Breeding

Colony breeding is when you have more than one breeding Male or Female in the same cage. I have only tried breeding in colonies two or three times, but I much preferred breeding pairs. I found that whenever I tried to use more than male they would fight over the females. I also found that there could be squabbles between the females and one female would try to take all of the babies. When I did use colonies I always used only one male with more than one female – sometimes two or three, and once even five females all in the same cage.

You may find that your hamsters are absolutely fine with breeding in colonies, but you must remember that the more hamsters you have, the more space they will need. There is also more chances of fighting, more introductions to be made etc. etc. It is essential that all of the hamsters are checked regularly to make sure there are no wounds, or that none of them are being bullied, or being prevented from eating or drinking. Another important thing which needs to be done is to make sure that the male is completely unrelated to all of the females, and all of the females are from the same lines, preferably all sisters – as it can be impossible to determine which babies are from which females. Obviously, this can cause problems if any of the babies have genetic problems, as you will not know which female to stop breeding from.

Of course there are many other things to think about, and problems to overcome, but again, it is up to you to be careful and sensible in your decisions.

Colour Mutations

As of January 2011 there are 7 Roborovski colour mutations that I have heard about, seen photos of and understand the genetic make up of. Over the past couple of years i have been doing a lot of research and talking to a number of different breeders both in the UK and abroad and i have gathered as much information about the different colours as possible. Where possible i have also done many test matings and used my own findings to support the information i have gathered. I have not seen all of these colours with my own eyes, so have not been able to test mate with a couple of them but i trust the sources that i have got the information from, and wanted to share all of this information here.

A big, big 'Thank You' must go to my friend Nella from Holland for the information, photos and time she has shared with me over the past couple of years, without her research we wouldnt have progressed even half as far as we are now with Roborovski genetics.

A couple of these colours / mutations could be described as patterns instead of colours, but I will list them all here anyway:

The Agouti / Normal Roborovski

This is the original, wild colouration of the Roborovski Hamster. On the coloured parts of their coats Agouti Roborovskis have a sandy brown (sometimes orange) top coat, which is lightly and evenly ticked with dark brown, and slate grey roots. They have a white tummy, white feet and white ‘eyebrow’ markings. They have black eyes and flesh coloured ears which have a dark brown lining. Clearly defined arches are present. Unlike other dwarf species, they do not have a dorsal stripe.

The Husky Roborovski (Recessive White Faced Gene)

This is a fairly common mutation which has been around for a few years now. This is a recessive gene which causes the hamster to have a white face with just a coloured 'V' coming from the ears to just above the eyes. This gene also affects the coloured area of the coat which is usually much paler and more ‘orangey’, and has a ‘washed out’ effect. The coloured area of the coat also appears to have shrunk, as the white belly fur creeps up around the sides and back, also making the arches much less defined.

Although I have heard of problems occurring related to the breeding of the White - Faced Roborovski, to date I have had no problems myself and all of my Hamsters have continued to produce healthy and delightful babies - with no apparent genetic flaws. I am continually monitoring all litters and individuals very carefully for any sign of problems.

The White-Faced Roborovski (Dominant White Faced Gene)

This is a very rare gene at the moment in all countries. In Holland there are a number of these hamsters due to Nella's efforts to concentrate on this colour, and at the moment they are all staying with her to help us to understand the colour better.

Due to the similarities of this gene to the Husky and Platinum colours it has been overlooked and often misidentified. This is a dominant gene which causes the hamster to have a white face with just a coloured 'V' coming from the ears to just above the eyes. The coloured area of the coat appears to have shrunk in a similar way to the Husky gene above. Unlike the Husky gene this only very slightly lightens, if at all, the coloured area of the coat, giving the hamster an overall appearance of a pure agouti with a white face. With age these hamsters do sometimes turn slightly 'greyish'.

The Platinum Roborovski (White Faced from birth = 1 x Dominant White Faced Gene + 1 x Recessive White Faced Gene)

This is a very similar colour to the above White – Faced gene and is just as rare for the same reasons. A Roborovski this colour will appear very similar to the above hamster at weaning age but they are slightly lighter again. The main difference between a Platinum Roborovski and a White - Faced Roborovski is that Platinum Roborovskis fade with age. At approx. 12 months old they are grey and by the time they reach 18 - 24 months old they are usually pure white and can then sometimes be confused with the Pure White Roborovski.

To see photos of White - Faced (Dominant White - Faced) Robos and Platinum Robos at various stages and compared to other colours please see the following link: (photos courtesy of Nella) White Faced Roborovskis

The White Roborovski (White from birth = 1 x Dominant White Faced Gene + 2 x Recessive White Faced Gene)

Pure White Roborovskis who are white from birth have always been very elusive, despite reports, and the odd photo, of them over the past few years. This is mainly due to the fact that no one knew the genetic make up of them, and without the precise variation of genes they are impossible to produce. Thanks to a couple of breeders who have specialised in finding out the secrets of what ‘makes’ a White Roborovski, we now know that for a Roborovski to be born White they need to inherit one Dominant White - Faced gene, from either parent, and two Recessive White - Faced genes, one from each parent. Thanks to this new information there are more and more White babies being born, so hopefully they will be more common very soon!

Please note that these Hamsters are not Albino as they still retain the black eyes - they do not have red eyes. Although there are the occasional Albino Roborovski Hamster these do have red eyes.

Some White Roborovskis have been found not to be as healthy as the other colours and research is ongoing to find out what causes this and to try and prevent it in future generations.

To read more about White Roborovskis and to see detailed photos of some in the UK, please visit the following thread on the 'Mad About Hamsters' forum: White Roborovskis

The Red Eyed Roborovski (Rust / Cinnamon?)

This new mutation occurred in the Czech Republic in 2009 and in 2010 I was very lucky to be able to import a pair of these hamsters into the UK with the help of some very good friends.

These Roborovskis have very light creamy / caramel coloured fur with a chocolate undercoat, dark brown (red) eyes and pale ears. Very little is known about this new colour at the moment, except that it is a recessive gene, and i hope to be able to provide more information once a few more generations are born.

To read more about this new colour and to see detailed photos of my pair, please visit the following thread on my forum: Red Eyed Roborovskis

The Mottled / Pied Roborovski

This new mutation has very recently occurred, but it is still not clear exactly where is first appeared, although it is thought to have originated in the Czech Republic. I was very lucky to be able to import two of these beauties into the UK in November 2010 from the Swedish breeder ‘Geisha’s’.

These Roborovskis appear to be agouti roborovskis with irregular patches of white over their heads, bodies and sometimes their faces too. Very little is known about this new colour at the moment, except that it looks to be a recessive gene, but i hope to be able to provide more information once babies are born. This has been compared to the Mottled pattern in Russian Campbells.

To read more about this new colour and to see detailed photos of my pair, please visit the following thread on my forum: Mottled / Pied Roborovskis

The Effect of Recessive genes on Agouti Roborovskis

I have found that some recessive genes have a very slight effect on the roborovskis carrying them. I can only speak of what i seen in my own hamsters, so other breeders may disagree, but i will record my findings here.

Agouti carrying Husky

Agouti Roborovskis carrying one copy of the Husky (Recessive White - Faced) gene will usually appear slightly lighter than a pure agouti Roborovski and a lot of them will have a lighter agouti colouration between their eyes, some even having a white 'spot' between their eyes. For this reason it is always a good idea to keep pure agouti lines free from white faced genes.

Agouti carrying Red Eyed

Agouti Roborovskis carrying one copy of the Red Eyed Gene sometimes have a very slightly darker, richer colour making them visibly noticeable when next to a pure agouti. As this is not a detrimental effect it doesnt cause problems to introduce the red eyed gene into pure agouti lines, but it is still always a good idea to keep at least one pure agouti line free from any other colour.

My First Litter of White Babies!! - A Joint Breeding Venture

A couple of years ago i saw a photo of the most gorgeous hamster! He was a Pure White Roborovski named 'The Cloud' owned by Leila from Pompom Hamstery. After finding out more about the genetic makeup of White Roborovskis i approached Leila and 'The Cloud' to see if they would like to have a little visitor for a few months. Obviously The Cloud was delighted and very much looked forward to it! Leila very kindly agreed to let one of my little Recessive Husky females go live with her and The Cloud. Together Leila and I named her 'Bianca Nadya' which literally translates as 'Pure White Hope', so it was very fitting.

She was only a few weeks old when she made the long journey to Leila's and she was absolutely tiny! She was soon introduced to The Cloud and they hit it off straight away, with Bianca taking place as the dominant one of the pair, despite being half the size of The Cloud! Thanks to Leila's wondeful care and attention Bianca was soon in peak condition and size to hopefully have a litter, so all we had to do was wait.

In December last year Bianca gave birth to 6 adorable babies and we were both absolutely over the moon to see that three of them were Pure White!!

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Leila so, so much for giving me this fantastic opportunity to produce some adorable 'Mini Clouds' :D I really appreciate the time and effort you have put into these hamsters and their babies xx

To see some photos of these gorgeous hamsters please see the album below, i hope you enjoy seeing the babies and find them as exciting as we do! Massive thanks to Leila for the fantastic photos!!

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