What do you look for...

[Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters]

...in a show Roborovski?

So I know the basics of it - Size, shape, colour and the rest but I have never really thought about the actual details of these.
What are these perfect sizes, shapes and colours that make a robo a prize winner? And also what are the other tiny details that determin whether it is a "perfect" robo or not (ie; eyes, ears etc)? If anyone has any pictures as examples that would be great too!

Of course my robos will always be perfect to me no matter what

[lisab]

Not many people actually show robos. I think your better off going to a show and having a look and have a chat to breeders and judges. holding and seeing is compleatly different on seeing photos

Another way to see if to just jump in there and enter yours in the main class then you will get details on whats right and wrong. I did that with the syrians when i first started.

[Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters]

Thanks, thats probably a better answer than I could have gotten from photos!
I have seen quite a few robo pairs at the few shows I have been too but Im never sure whether or not to enter mine as I worry that they will go completely skitzo when the judges handle them Do they lose marks for not being completely tame in the main show?

[Pompompoms]

Well, I was hoping to have a whole wealth of information for you today as today was meant to be the first time the pompoms entered the main show at Swindon. Sadly it was not be, and we will be waiting till next year now. I have however been to a few shows, and asked a LOT of questions.

So what I do know is this;

Agouti Robos are entered in standard class, and are the only type of robo that can also enter the duplicate classes. Husky and Pied robos can only be entered in the non standard class. Currently white robos aren't recognised and therefore can't enter, judges roughly need to see them three times to accept them, which should happen next year. Another reason I hoped to attend the show was to take Whizzbit so he as a white would be seen. His son Claude was attending, so the two together would have made a great example of whites.

The criteria for Agouti Robos is as follows:
NORMAL

TOP COAT - Warm sandy brown carried 1/3 down. Very lightly and evenly ticked with dark brown.
BASE COLOUR - Slate Grey
BELLY FUR - White
FEET - White
EYES - Black
EARS - Flesh with a dusting of fine fur on the top edge conforming to the Standard colour.
MARKINGS - Arches and spinal stripe are absent. The boundary between top colour and belly fur shall be a sharply defined line with no brindling along the animals’ flanks with a slight downward curve between the front and back legs and again over the tail root. The “eyebrow” markings and the whisker beds shall be pure white and clearly defined.
NOTES - “Open” coat, showing under colour, to be heavily penalised.




They points are out of 100, and are allocated as follows:
TYPE (25 points) - The body shall be broad and cobby, with rear legs appearing to be set wider apart than front legs. Carriage should be low and sturdy. The head shall be well set into the body, with no perceptible neck. The skull shall be broad with a short face and wide muzzle. The eyes and ears shall be set well apart.

FUR (20 points) - The fur shall be soft, smooth and very dense. This also applies to the soles of the feet.

SIZE (10 points) - Adult range, 6 to 8 cms long.

CONDITION (10 points) - The hamster shall be fit, curious when awake and tame to handle. The body shall be well fleshed but with no surplus fat. The coat shall have a healthy sheen and be clean.

EYES AND EARS (5 points) - The eyes shall be large and prominent, rounded but not bulging. The ears shall be rounded, carried erect when the animal is alert, and clearly visible above the fur.

COLOUR (30 points) - Where base colour is indicated, this applies to the whole animal, excluding the belly fur.


A beautiful example of a high scoring robo is Apollo, Tammy's gorgeous boy


Apollo - Pure Agouti Robo

[Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters]

Wow Thanks so much Poms! Sounds like Jenî and Truffle would be my best entrants next year, I will have to sort out getting a show pen for them and the proper substrate
Its a shame you didnt get to go to the show I bet your Poms would have stolen the show away

[lisab]

You can hire a pen rather than buying one before you know if your going to stick at showing they have to be shown in a syrian pen.

They will only use marks if they bite. robos are know for being very fast.


Any colour that doesnt fit in to standard goes in to non standard even if they arnt recognised they are not a standard.

To make a colour standard, the standard committee need to see three generations of a colour not seeing a colour three times then theres loads of other things thats done before the colour can be shown.

[LocoRocoPanda]

I actually saw Claude yesterday. Me and Yaz were staring at him.

I can now say I've technically met a Pom.

I hope you've got enough info now, Erin!

[Pompompoms]

Awwwwww Claude, he's gorgeous isn't he! He is an exact replica of grandad The Cloud, just not quite as big yet. If you saw Claude you saw his (and Billy and Lola's) brother Archie too as they were going together.

Re recognition of colour. I don't know whether it's the same for other hamsters, but obviously having a predominant interest in robos and the development of the white, I can only speak for them. I was fortunate to have shared both my breeding ventures with two fantastic and long term robo breeders and showers, my most recent venture being with Wessex hams who happened also to be the show secretary for the Swindon show. We spoke about getting the white robo recognised for the non standard category (they are currently not recognised and aren't counted even in non standard) husky and pied are, cinnamon red eye are not either. The requirement is for the hamsters to be seen roughly three times, noticed by the judges roughly three times (as in amount of hamsters, not one hamster three times). It's not an exact number, it's more about getting it noticed that the colouring is becoming more prevalent. Then an application is made to the NHC for the colour to be officially accepted in future shows for the non standard class. The application has been made before and turned down, this is why now we have more between us, it's important to get the lovely whites we've bred out into the shows. If it was a matter of generation, we've had three generations of whites for a little while now with my boy The Cloud, his five white sons one of whom I kept (Whizzbit), then his grandchildren I recently bred along with Wessex hams husky Lilly; Minxie and Claude, and the whites my boys (Whizzbit's white brothers) that went to Tammy produced. It's about getting them out there. There is common misconception about the three generations. As I say I know nothing about showing or furthering lines in other hams, so I don't know whether it has come from there, but I do know it doesn't apply to robos. It also doesn't apply to a ham being a pedigree, a third gen ham does not necessarily mean a pedigree ham which is something you also often read .

This was the reason Claude was in the show despite being very young still as well as not technically meant to be entered. he was snuck in. It was also why I was keen to get Whizzbit there even though as a show ham he wouldn't score well with his wonky little face

[LocoRocoPanda]

Is Archie a husky/white faced? I know I saw a white robo!

[Pompompoms]

He is, he lives with Claude, and I know Wessex hams was planning to take them both together. Ahhhhhhh I'm so gutted I missed my lovely boys!