Perhaps a daft question, but...

[alie]

Do all robos end up fighting? Looking at these threads, 90% of them talk about their hammies fighting and having to be seperated.

I have just taken on a syrian boy, but have put my name on the list with the local rescue to accept robos if they come up...

Is it just chance if they fight? Or is it when they reach maturity? When is maturity? Does size of cage make a difference? Numbers in group? What is the best size of housing - eg size of cage per pair? I saw on the cage thread that somebody had 7 robos living together in a living world 1, do they fight?

Sorry if it is a daft question, but having agreed to be a foster/permanant home if needed, I really need to find out what I would be letting myself in for - would also be good to know I had the right cage on standby; would a Mary do for example? The bar spacing is 11.3mm compared to the livingworld which is 10mm...

[cornishrobos]

Hi there!

Good on you for being a potential Robo rehomer!!!

Unfortunately the majority of Robo groups have to be split and it could be for a number of reasons, however in my opinion I don't think you'll ever know a reason why some get on and some don't!! However if do end up with some Robos make sure you have the largest cage you can get/afford, I wouldn't recommend A Rotastak set up!! Make sure you have 1 each of everything, i.e wheels, don't have dishes for food, scatter it around the cage so everyone gets a fair share, plenty of shavings or whatever you use for them to dig in. As for the size of cage, mine started of a Rody cage from Pets @ Home and although it seemed big enough at the time I couldn't fit enough toys in for them to keep them amused, I quite like the size of the Zoo Zone 1 for 2 - 4 robos, it's got a deep tray, so you can give them a generous amount of shavings etc for them to dig in. My 2 Robs that still live together live in a Zoo Zone 2 which is massive but you could keep quite a few Robos in there quite happily, they'd have more than enough space, only thing is the cage takes up a lot of room! Also if you do end up rehoming i'd have a few cages on standby just in case you do end up splitting them - if you did have a pair or group that end up fighting, it can turn nasty quite quick, so to have a spare cage to move one to could save you from having an injured hammy on your hands.

Is the Mary cage for rats, if it's the one i'm thinking of then I think the bar spacing would be fine on it. Robos reach maturity around the 2 months mark!!

Anyway, i'm not sure if this helps or not and i'm sure there are more experienced keepers on here that could advise you more, i've got 5 Robos now but i'm by no means an expert but the set ups I use for mine seem to work, like I said 2 live in a Zoo Zone 2, then we have the other 3, 2 each live in Imac fantasy's and the other in another cage (which I don't like so will be replacing it with either a Zoo Zone 1 or a Duna Deluxe.

[alie]

Originally Posted by cornishrobos

Is the Mary cage for rats, if it's the one i'm thinking of then I think the bar spacing would be fine on it. Robos reach maturity around the 2 months mark!!.

Yes that's the cage...

Living in the south of France with the heat of the summer, I would really like a wired cage, so giving the maximum ventalation.

I have been contacted about a new unwanted litter of Robos, and want to be ready when the time comes...

So, to clarify (and I need to be sure); Could I put baby robos in a Ferplast Mary, bar spacing 1.13cm, cage size 80cm x 50cm x 37cm. If yes, how many. Is it best to stick to even numbers? Should I stick with 2?

[selkie]

i would recommend even numbers as hamsters are terrible bullies and having one singled out as it were will just lead to tragedy.

mary cage should be fine, basically the smaller the bars the better.

in my opinion, it doesnt seem to matter about the size of a group whether they will fight or not, but id only put 2 in that particular cage. large fish tanks are good for colonies of robos

[alie]

Thanks Selkie!

Having told the association that I could take another "cage", and wasnt fussed about the breed of hammie, I wasnt expecting to be called so quickly! They dont seem to have many people putting their hands up for hammies though and are struggling, like everyone else, with the awful xmas present sydrome

So, to avoid as many problems as possible, I'll stick to 2 in the Mary (having bought one for my syrian Bertie, I like this cage), have 2 wheels, sprinkle food on the ground and have a deep litter base so that they can bury themselves and loads of toys... 2 water bottles aswell I suppose.

Did I miss anything? Do they eat normal hamster food, or the miniture hamster mix? When can the young leave their mum? (gives me an idea when I need to be ready by )...

I appreciate your help

[cornishrobos]

Sounds like you've covered everything you need, I think they are going to be one group of lucky Robos having you looking after them!! Although I give mine Dwarf Hamster food (which is hard to get hold of in shops, I get mine of Zoo Plus, just wish they did bigger boxes/bags of it) they will eat normal Hamster Food. They also like budgie seed, millet sprays, anything a Syrian would eat really. They also like carrots, broccoli etc but not a lot of it and maybe give it to them once, twice a week at the most!

[selkie]

baby robos need to stay with mum and dad (or just mum) for 5 weeks. i didnt know this when i had babies and took them away at 4 weeks like other hammies. altho they did kill their mum....
maybe i should have left them with their dad tho cos he stopped eating and drinking and died... then the babies died/ate each other and i was left with one called Solo who died too really young! maybe im not so good with robos i dont know, it may have been cos they were removed from their dad too young.
they were my first robos tho which may have had something to do with it

just watch them tho, when they fight they are silent, they never announce it like the other species.

i have never seen dwarf food so everyone gets regular with no side effects

[alie]

I have bad news... All the babies were found dead on Thursday evening I agreed to take the mum anyway, on her own, but she went down hill and the association rang yesterday to say she had died

RIP little family...

Thanks for all your help folks, it has not been wasted by any means.

[souffle]

Aww no Alie I am so sorry to hear that. It sounds as if mum either had mastitis so the pups would not have been able to feed or had a post birth infection. Poor little mites.
Rest in peace and play well at the bridge mum and pups - together again.

[cornishrobos]

I'm so sorry to hear that, poor little things!! At least you'll be prepared if another group head your way!