Desert Hamster-Mottled (Phodopus roborovskii)

Desert Hamster-Mottled Phodopus roborovskii
Name	Desert Hamster-Mottled
Name Lat.	Phodopus roborovskii
Family	Cricetid Rodents
Family lat.	Cricetidae
Order	Rodents
Order lat.	Rodentia
Origin	Asia (breeding variety)
Climate	Temperate
Habitat	Steppe, semi-desert
Diet	Dwarf hamster food, herbs, hay, insects
Behavior	Nocturnal; semi-aggressive
Keeping	Individual, pair
Care Level	Easy
Life Span	2-3 years
Protection	No
Metric Units
Size	6-8 cm
Temperature	Room temperature
Housing	80 x 30 x 40 cm
US Units
Size	2.4"-3.1"
Temperature	Room temperature
Housing	30" x 12" x 15"

Distribution and habitat

The predominantly nocturnal Roborowski's dwarf hamsters live in dry grasslands, sandy and semi-deserts of northern China and Mongolia. There they inhabit burrows they have dug themselves, where they also store their food supplies. They are bred in several color varieties.

Maintenance

Minimum dimensions for the enclosure:

1-2 animals	area: 0.3 m²	height: 40 cm
Each additional animal	Area: + 20

A terrarium or rodentarium of 100 x 50 x 50 cm (L x W x H) is recommended, placed in a bright (no direct sunlight), draught-free and quiet place, with ventilation openings at the sides, and it must not be tightly closed at the top.

The enclosure should be variedly structured with stones, roots and branches, and with floors placed at different heights, and should provide hiding and sheltering places (rodent houses, tubes, clay caves, etc.). They need food and drinking containers (drinking bottles), a sand bath (chinchilla sand) for grooming, nesting material (hay, etc.) and a substrate for digging. Commercially available small animal litter or a peat-soil mixture (unfertilized potting soil) is suitable as substrate. The bedding depth should be 15 cm, but better 20 cm. Nail material, such as untreated twigs and branches of fruit trees, as well as a rodent stone, must always be available to wear down their teeth. They should be kept at room temperature and their natural day-night rhythm should be respected.

Diet

They feed mainly vegetarian, but also need animal protein. The diet consists of a low-fat grain mixture, available in specialized shops as "dwarf hamster food", supplemented with feed hay, dried herbs, green fodder (dandelion), root vegetables, occasionally live insects (meal beetle larvae, grasshoppers, crickets, etc.) and especially during pregnancy and rearing of young animal protein (insect and egg food). Fruit must be offered only rarely and in very small quantities (risk of diabetes). Drinking water must always be available in hanging bottles or in stable, open containers and, like food, must be offered fresh daily

A varied diet promotes health and prevents deficiency symptoms.

Behaviour and compatibility

They are rather loners. The individual compatibility in pair keeping also depends on the rearing, the keeping conditions as well as the setup and size of the enclosure (many hiding places). At the first signs of incompatibility, the animals must be separated immediately.

Reproduction and breeding

Testes can be clearly seen in sexually mature males, and the distance between the anus and the urethral opening is greater in juvenile males than in females.

For mating, the female is placed with the male for a short time. The gestation period is between 18 and 22 days. The young are born naked, blind and deaf. They nurse until the 21st day, after which the young may be separated from the mother. They are sexually mature after about 30 days.

Important

The activity maximum is shortly after sunset and shortly before sunrise

They have a particularly pronounced scent gland (ventral gland) on the belly of the male, which secretes a yellowish secretion to mark the territory

Their cheek pouches are expandable skin sacs for hoarding food, but are also used for impersonation and threatening. Attention should be paid to the length of the permanently regrowing teeth. Teeth that are too long hinder food intake

Running wheels must be injury-proof, have a closed running surface and back wall and a diameter of at least 25 cm.

Particular attention must be paid to thorough hygiene and impurities must be removed regularly.

Further literature can be found in your pet store.

References

Text: petdata; Image: petdata

Source: BMEL (2014): Gutachten über Mindestanforderungen an die Haltung von Säugetieren; DIETZ & SCHNEIDER (2008): Mein Zwerghamster zu Hause, bede Verlag; W. PUSCHMANN, D. ZSCHEILE, K. ZSCHEILE (2009): Zootierhaltung - Tiere in menschlicher Obhut: Säugetiere, Harri Deutsch Verlag

• Gemäß § 21 Abs. 5 Tierschutzgesetz idgF