Quick Robo questions

chesca_27 · 06-04-2020, 04:19 PM

So the last few months I’ve been looking into getting a second hamster and about a week before lockdown, I was going to adopt another Russian hybrid until I found out he had continuous health problems that I wouldn’t have been able to deal with. Then pets at home stopped doing animal adoptions and I dropped the idea of a second hamster.

However, today I visited my local Pets At Home again and discovered they have a little Roborovski in the adoption centre who’s been there since March. I’ve always wanted to have a little Robo and so I’ve spoken to my dad about it and he’s agreed that we can adopt him on a few conditions. I just had a few questions I wanted answering before I decide whether to adopt him or not.

The main issue is the hamster cage. Currently, I have an empty Ikea Billy cage and I just want to check that would be okay to house a single Robo in, in terms of space and the little gap at the top of the cage. Secondly, if by any chance my Savic Plaza ends up being empty, is the bar spacing on that okay or is it too wide?

Thirdly, I feed Artie a custom dwarf hamster mix, would this be okay as well for a Robo? There’s no particularly big pieces in the mix (unless you count peanuts and whole pumpkin seeds).

Fourthly, with the exception of robos being much smaller and less tame, is there anything that would differ in their care from a Russian hybrid?

Thank you!

sushi_78 · 06-04-2020, 05:14 PM

Is it the 80x40cm Billy shelf? My only concern with that one would be the width which would be less than 40cm internally. I think a depth of more like 45cm is better as narrower cages can be difficult to set up, but it could still be workable. The gap at the top could be fixed with some adjustments to the lid (like an extra bit of wood on the front of the lid, covering the gap).

I'm not sure about the bar spacing on the Savic Plaza as I've stuck to tanks and plastic tank cages for mine (mostly out of paranoia about Robos and bars, and also because they usually love burrowing and tanks keep all the bedding in). It is a very high cage so would need a careful setup.

Your mix is probably fine, but you could post some details to be sure. It's the large pellets Robos tend to struggle with in most commercial mixes, and they love small seeds like millet and flax. Mine has no problem with nuts or pumpkin seeds.

chesca_27 · 06-05-2020, 02:10 AM

Yeah it’s roughly 80 x 40cm. I know it’s not the widest, but my previous hamster Jasper lived in it for most of his life and I had no issues with the set up. I’m going to look into getting a piece of wood to fix over top, but it should be okay for the moment as long as I don’t have any tall toys near the front of the cage. I’ll check the bar spacing on the Plaza but I believe it’s 7mm. My mix doesn’t contain any pellets, it’s completely natural with just seeds and nuts and mealworms (I have a proper spreadsheet of the complete nutritional breakdown). Thank you so much for your help!

Fluffagrams · 06-05-2020, 04:21 AM

A 7mm bar spacing should be fine for adult Robos and I've not had experience of any of mine being able to easily climb up the bars to have been able to reach the top of the cage so you should be fine with that slight gap at the top of the cage.

In terms of care, I don't find that they need anything different to the other dwarf species other than being aware of how much quicker they move. They're not prone to diabetes like some of the other dwarf species but they can have neurological issues sometimes.

Robos are a lot of fun!

Ria P · 06-05-2020, 12:47 PM

I also have an adopted Robo from p@h who had been living in a small tank there for about five months.
All i could offer him at the time was a 80x30 fish tank buy i've never upgraded him because he likes it in there.
I think that the Robo would be happy in the cage you have and a narrow tank can be set up to a Robo's liking.
Here's a photo of my Robo's set up.

chesca_27 · 06-05-2020, 01:50 PM

Thank you both and Ria I love your set up, it’s so nice!

I ended up adopting him today and he’s absolutely adorable (although yet to be named) and very fast. P@H told me he has been eating HH, so I bought a bag and I’ve given him some, however I forgot to break the big bits up and now I’m worried he’s gotten it stuck in his pouches. Should I be concerned, as it’s only been a few hours since I’ve had him and it does look like he’s tried to empty his pouches a few times and can’t but I’m not really sure what to do? Is it possible for the bigger pieces of HH to get stuck in his pouches? Thank you.

Ria P · 06-05-2020, 04:13 PM

Congratulations for adopting him! Hamsters often carry their food in their pouches until they settle in and find a good place to start a hoard. I don't know if food can get stuck easily but wouldn't have thought so because out in the wilds they would pouch nuts.
I buy the Rodipet food for my Robo and the dwarfs and give the chunky HH to my Syrian who actually prefers it. You could get a pestel and mortar to brake it up a bit.

Fluffagrams · 06-05-2020, 05:24 PM

If he was eating Harry Hamster at the pet shop anyway, I imagine he will be used to the size of the larger pieces and providing your new hamster’s teeth are healthy, there is no reason why they should need the bigger bits broken up. However, if you’re still worried and your new hamster still has full cheek pouches tomorrow then it might be worth giving your vet a call for advice.

Enjoy your new Robo!

Kyrkogrimr · 06-05-2020, 11:34 PM

Congrats on your new ham! I look forward to seeing more about him!

souffle · 06-06-2020, 12:04 AM

Our adopted robo Dottie always has food in her pouches but as soon as you handle her she spits all the seeds in to your hand. She also has Harry at the moment plus we supplement with small seed mix from a health food store and she has a millet spray which is her favourite thing ever! I wouldn't worry about the food as yours sounds to be eating well on it.