Roborovskis (Phodopus roborovskii) are the smallest of all hamsters commonly kept as pets. Distinguishing characteristics of the Roborovskis are the white spots where the eyebrows would be, and the lack of the dorsal stripe seen in all other dwarf hamsters. They live, on average, for one and a half to two years. Recently, a mutation has arisen producing a "husky", also known as "white-faced", phase. Breeding these lines with agouti Roborovskis pr...
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Roborovskis (Phodopus roborovskii) are the smallest of all hamsters commonly kept as pets. Distinguishing characteristics of the Roborovskis are the white spots where the eyebrows would be, and the lack of the dorsal stripe seen in all other dwarf hamsters. They live, on average, for one and a half to two years. Recently, a mutation has arisen producing a "husky", also known as "white-faced", phase. Breeding these lines with agouti Roborovskis produces a diluted appearance of their natural sandy colour.
Roborovski hamsters live in the wild around the Gobi Desert, throughout Mongolia's desert steppe and parts of northern China. They are particularly suited to the steppe, as they are highly efficient in their use of water (as evidenced by how they may pass particularly concentrated urine), so little vegetation is required. Here, they dig and live in burrows. These are usually steep tunnels and they live between 60 and 200 cm below ground. Roborovski hamsters are surprisingly not...
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