Robos - breeding issues nearby - advice needed

Pebbles82 · 02-25-2017, 01:52 PM

Ok. So someone not too far from me has a litter of baby Robos. An accidental litter. They bought boys from a pet shop and it turned out one was a girl and had a litter. They didn't know to take the Father out so the female then had another litter.

They are currently advertising the babies and I was thinking of taking a pair. But - spoke to them on the phone about the sexing. They've been quite careful to separate the babies into male and female this time and have 3 females and two males. Except they're not 100% sure about one of the males. And they didn't separate them until they were five weeks old.

From what I've read, they can get pregnant at four weeks old. So I've sent some info to them, because I could see this could get out of hand! With the three females possibly being pregnant now as well!

On the one hand, I would like to have either the two boys or three girls - the litter needs rehoming. On the other hand, if not careful both them and I could both end up with another unwanted litter.

I've left it that they need to wait another couple of weeks to see if any of the girls might be pregnant. And sent the photos and info from Tammy's Oak Farm site to show how to help sex the two "boys".

Whether I get any of them or not is one thing, but I now feel I want to help these people from getting into a bigger mess with multiple litters!

Any advice I can pass on welcome.

**Cinnamon Bear** · 02-25-2017, 02:06 PM

I would suggest 2 girls if you want to try a pair

heard they do better than male pairs from Erin's Animals. But FF had a pair of girls so idk, hope you are able to home however many you choose.

Drago · 02-25-2017, 02:16 PM

Being inexperienced with dwarfies, I don't have any solid advice for you, but I would like to say that it sound like you've certainly got your hands full! Maybe try taking a pair of females and then keeping one female on her own? This way you could stop any more possibilities of accidental litters! Whatever you do decide, if you end up getting them, be sure to post lots of pictures

Vectis Hamstery · 02-25-2017, 02:20 PM

Are they able to get to a show? If they contacted someone (perhaps try the show sec first off) before going, someone who knows robos could help with checking the sexing of them.

Pebbles82 · 02-25-2017, 02:25 PM

Thank you everyone. I am not sure I will be getting any yet, but I'm a bit concerned that these inexperienced owners are going to be over-run with baby robos. The three girls could possibly have a litter each! And if the two boys are a boy and a girl that could be another litter. So a potential further four litters all happening at the same time. They could end up with 24 plus Robos and nowhere to put them.

Vectis - thank you. I'm not sure there is a Northern region show until April. I would like to take a pair but I don't want to end up with an unwanted litter either, so I've said to them we need to wait a couple of weeks and if they do end up having more litters I'll try and help them out somehow. Contacting a Robo breeder or show secretary is probably the best option if no shows coming up, thank you.

He sounded fairly confident he had sexed the three girls and one of the boys, but wasn't 100% sure about the other "boy". I think though that if he didn't separate boys and girls till they were five weeks (a week ago), there could still be more pregnancies.

Vectis Hamstery · 02-25-2017, 03:44 PM

He could contact the secretary of the Northern Hamster Club and see if there are any breeders near him who could help with sexing between shows. I wouldn't want him to get over-run.

The rule of thumb with a 'dubious' boy is to either house it alone or, if that's not possible, to put it in with the boys. That way if it turns out to be a girl there's only one pregnant girl. If you put a 'dubious' one in with the girls and it's a boy then there's a whole lot of pregnant girls.

Although splitting them at 4 weeks is best, if it's just youngsters in together at 5 weeks then the risks of pregnancy in the young girls is lower than if there was an older male e.g. dad in there too.

Pebbles82 · 02-25-2017, 04:13 PM

Thanks Vectis. I wondered about separating the two "boys" in case one wasn't a boy - but then they'd have to stay separated I guess. Good to know that at 5 weeks a pregnancy isn't that likely.

I will pass on the details of the secretary of the Northern Club. Would that be Anita Workman? (Club secretary and dwarf species Judge).

Pebbles82 · 02-27-2017, 03:47 PM

I thought they had stopped contacting me but received a message today saying they think one of the boys is a girl now. So have asked if they have separated the boy/girl from the others or put her in with the other girls! If they've put her in with the other girls it could be tricky to work out which one might be pregnant. Anyway, thanks for the help - I'll see what happens next!

Pebbles82 · 02-28-2017, 02:54 AM

So litter owners have seen the sexing info and got back to me saying they have decided the dubious one is a girl and have put her in with the other three girls. Say they know which one she is and are keeping an eye on things. Have suggested that if they are not certain still, to separate her, but if they're sure then to maybe have a bin to hand in case the others reject her, as a temporary cage.

Assuming she is a girl she will be 6 weeks old and been in a cage with a brother for a week, so I guess the chances of pregnancy aren't too high, but still a slight risk?

If she had a litter and the other girls have accepted her, I'm guessing they would all act as Surrogate Mums is that right? Although it does sound like they could fall out now possibly.

cypher · 02-28-2017, 03:52 AM

If she's 6 weeks old then pregnancy is a possibility, if she really is a girl. I'm really not sure how the others would react if she did have a litter tbh & any or all of them might fall out, if they could it would probably be better to just separate the one they've been so unsure of & keep her alone.