Roborovski Dwarf Hamster

Coat and looks how to spot one

short, dense sandy-coloured fur on a tiny rounded body

A very small, round hamster with a short tail, soft dense fur and a pale sandy-brown back. The belly and legs are white, and it has distinctive white spots above each eye that look like eyebrows, plus white patches by the ears. Unlike its Phodopus cousins it has no dark stripe running down its back.123

Personality what they are like

A busy, speedy little hamster that spends its active hours running, digging and exploring. Robos are quick and wriggly rather than cuddly, so they tend to suit owners who enjoy watching natural behaviour more than frequent handling. When something surprises them they usually freeze rather than react defensively.12

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Very high. Most active in the evening and at night (in the wild at dawn and dusk too) and reported to cover several miles in a night. Provide a solid-surface wheel of about 20-22 cm, plus tunnels, hides and deep substrate for digging.1246

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Self-grooming; no brushing needed. Offer a shallow dish of suitable sand for sand bathing as enrichment. Spot-clean every few days and deep-clean the enclosure once or twice a month. Handle close to a surface, and start handling young so they get used to it.47

Home where they are happiest

Blue Cross recommends an enclosure of at least 100 x 50 cm floor space and 50 cm high with at least 20 cm of diggable bedding. Use a solid floor and paper-based or dust-free bedding (avoid cedar and pine), with hay or shredded paper for nesting. Keep at roughly 18-26 °C.476

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A good-quality hamster pellet or seed mix as the base, with small ear-sized portions of fresh vegetables and occasional fruit, plus a little protein such as insects. In the wild they eat mostly seeds (70-90% of the diet) along with plant parts and insects. Scatter food to encourage foraging, and always provide fresh water (avoid grapes and rhubarb).284

Company who they like around

Solitary by nature in the wild, but with the right care and space they may live in same-sex sibling pairs; they are equally happy kept alone. Provide duplicate wheels, hides and food spots if housing more than one.245

The story where it all began

The species was first recorded in July 1894 by the Russian explorer Lieutenant Vsevolod Roborovsky during an expedition in Central Asia, and Konstantin Satunin gave it a formal scientific description in 1903, naming it after Roborovsky. London Zoo brought some to Britain in the 1960s, but steady breeding in the UK only took off after stock arrived from the Netherlands in 1990, following earlier success on the European continent. The United States received imports in 1998. Since then breeders have developed around ten colour and pattern varieties from the natural agouti.1

Recognised by the official bits

National Hamster Council (UK)

Governing body of the UK hamster fancy, founded 1949 and described as the oldest such organisation in the world; covers keeping, exhibiting and breeding hamsters. Species-specific standard text was not retrieved.9

Scientific description

Described by Konstantin Satunin in 1903 from a specimen collected on V. Roborovsky's expedition; the smallest of the three Phodopus species.1