Oak Farm Rabbits and Rodents

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

Sexing Roborovskis

Roborovski Hamsters are very small and can sometimes be difficult to handle - this can make sexing them very difficult! It is very important to make sure that you know the correct sex of any hamster to prevent unwanted babies being born.

The first thing you need to do is to pick up your Roborovski and hold it firmly so that you can get a good look at it - this is easily done by ‘scruffing’ the hamster firmly by the skin on the back of its neck, making sure not to accidentally trap the ears! If you hold them properly in this position they will not struggle, and it will be quite easy to have a good look at them – this will not hurt your Roborovski in any way!

Adult Male

On an adult male Roborovski there is a very noticeable gap between the two openings and the scent gland is usually very noticeable too, visible as a yellowish stain where the belly button would be. Some males can have very visible testicles too – this is usually if they have been asleep and are therefore very warm and relaxed, but it can also be when they have just been paired up with a female for the first time, or if they have been fighting with another male, or sometimes even just when they have been introduced to another male. All hamsters are different, so some will be very noticeable as male, whereas others will try to fool you!

Adult Male

Adult Female

On an adult female Roborovski there is hardly any gap between the two openings, just a slight ‘line’ joining the two. Females have eight teats but these are usually only visible when pregnant or nursing. The main two teats, which can sometimes be visible when the female is not pregnant or nursing, are just above the two openings, one on each side. The female’s scent gland can also sometimes be noticeable, as a very faint yellowish stain.

Young Male and Female

Below are two photos of three and a half week old pups:

Young Male Young Female

As you can see, both youngsters lack the visible scent gland, but they can both be easily sexed at this young age – the first photo shows the young male and the second photo shows the young female.

At a very early age, just before the pups gain much fur, it is very easy to determine the sex of each pup as the females have visible teats, but these soon get covered up in the next few days by the fur. Once they reach three and a half to four weeks old it is again easy to tell the difference, but I find that after this time it can be become difficult once again, and I have sometimes thought that I have wrongly sexed them!! But once they are over 6 or 7 weeks old it is usually very easy to tell once again! This is one of the reasons why I usually keep my babies until 7 or 8 weeks of age.

Obviously as the hamster gets older it does get easier to determine the sex, but there are still similarities between the two. Both sexes have scent glands, so both males and females can have the yellowish stain, although males are usually more noticeable. Both the male and the female can grow to different sizes, depending on the individual hamster, so size is not a very good indicator of sex. Some Roborovskis will stay quite small and some will grow very big, regardless of sex!

Hopefully my photos and explanations above will help you to correctly sex your Roborovski hamsters, but if you have any problems, or would like me to help in any way, please feel free to send me an email with photos and I will try to assist you.