Telling Robos apart

karlh · 07-23-2015, 01:27 AM

My group of five Campbell boys is coming to its natural end. i am left with only one, who is now 2 years old. He has lost some of his nice coat and somehow broke one of his hind legs. But he is soldiering on...
I am thinking of getting a group of 4 Robos when the time comes. But I understand because of so little genetic tinkering with these little creatures, they all look almost identical..... How will I be able to tell them apart? Any ideas? Just by their personality?

Milkshake · 07-23-2015, 03:10 AM

I also feel that if I get robos, I won't be able to tell them apart. But you could get an agouti, a white face, a husky and a BEW. And, one could be very easy to tame, and the others not so much. That always puts my curious mind at bay.

PS
So sorry for your loss with four out of five little dwarfies. You must be heartbroken. Hugs for the brave soldier who is managing to stumble along, it must be hard without his other buddies. Carry on, little one!

Love,
Hollzey
xxx

karlh · 07-24-2015, 12:13 AM

Thanks, milkshake. It was all rather sad, as they went very quickly, one after the other. Suddenly, just keeled over and three died in my hand. Very sad indeed, as I expected the most active albino to live the longest.... That's nature....
Nice to know that robos may be available in different colour. I will be away for a month, so my dear neighbour will look after Damien. Should nature progress, I may visit the Reading show in September to see what is on offer, or go, as I always have done, through a reputable breeder.

ZippyRIP · 07-24-2015, 12:27 AM

Hi Karlh
I had two robos, and it was easy to tell them apart. They just looked different, (one was a bit chubbier than the other

) and they had totally different personalities. George being much shyer than Zippy was.
They will also typically have different markings of brown and white. sometimes you can get almost all white, or almost all brown.
Hope that helps. I suppose it's like asking how do you tell twins apart... once you get to know them, it's easy

They are lovely wee creatures though and good fun.
p.s. Hope your wee Campbell is doing ok.

karlh · 07-25-2015, 01:16 AM

Thanks ZippyRIP. Nice to know. All of my dwarfs had their own personalities and it was apparent they way they treated me....
Considering his lot, Damien is doing fine.

racinghamster · 07-25-2015, 03:40 AM

If your looking for a group of roborovski, they would all be from the same litter to be able to co-habit, so unless their coat colourings were mottled or they were a variation and you could see some differences, it may be difficult to tell them apart. Might be better to keep a pair as the chances of getting two that are different are higher than four from the same litter!

They are volatile though so sometimes you end up with separations so spare cages to hand are a must. x

Robodwarfs18 · 07-25-2015, 03:59 AM

I had this same problem when I got my two robos and at first I was clueless! But I realised that they had different personalities and the more I studied them, the more differences I noticed.

My advice is to watch them constantly and try to pick out little things that they all have. Like one of my robos had a darker undercoat (I think you call it) and a rounder face and he acted more friendly and always went for food first. Within a month or so, there was no problem telling them apart and I find it so easy now. Here's a tip that really helped me, take loads of pictures of all of them together if you can from different angles like above, face view, bottom view etc and it really helps to identify them. Also if you manage to tame them then put them in a smaller place like the bath or a box or something and pick them up one by one and take photos of them (I think that's easier). Hope this helped

karlh · 07-25-2015, 11:15 PM

Thank you robodwarfs18. It should be interesting little photo shoot. I have always taken a lot of pics of my dwarfs. In my last group of 5 Campbell boys I had two who I could not tell apart. Same size, same colouring. Until one of them had a disagreement with another brother and ended up with a small scar above his left eye. They turned out to have different personalities.
Initially, I wanted just 4 boys. But the hobby breeder's mum had five boys. So I ended up with all five, as I thought it would be hard for a single boy in the world of ours.
For the first time, I got an albino. All white, with pink eyes. But, as he got to six months, his colour changed. He became light mocca brown with very nice markings. Strangely, he was the funniest one of all, but also the most scheming. Within the first couple months he attacked all of his brothers and had to be separated. In the end I had three separate contraptions, of five cages..... Looked like a hamster zoo, Two pairs and a single albino.
Sadly, despite my thoughts that he may outlive all of them, Derek, the faux-albino, keeled over in his ball. When I got him out he was conscious, but motionless. He died in my hand an hour later. I guess he had a stroke or a heart attack. He was only 20 months old. I say only, as all of my previous hamsters lived to well over 2, the first pair to almost 3 years. His brother Dede went the same way. Fast, unexpectedly, from a healthy little creature to only a memory. Now, Damien is living by himself. He will be 2 years old next month.