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• About Roborovskis | History and Habitat |
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History and natural habitat |
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The Roborovski dwarf hamster or Desert hamster (Lat.: Phodopus Roborovskii) originates from Mongolia and Northern China where they will inhabit semi-arid areas with little vegetation. They live in burrows with steep tunnels some 2-6 feet beneath the sand. In the wild they are most active in September to November.
Roborovskis seem to be the most efficient in economizing their water needs. They are able to highly concentrate their urine and survive on less water than other dwarf hamsters. Of the Phodopus genus, Roborovskis are best adapted to desert life. They are also much less sensitive to cold temperatures. They are, however, very sensitive to heat.
Lt. Roborovski first made reports of it during an expedition near Nan Shan in July 1894. One of the first to study this hamster in captivity was zoölogist Satunin, around 1903.
It was not until the late 1970’s that the Zoological Society of London obtained the Roborovski Hamster from the Moscow Zoo but unfortunately these did not breed.
Some European countries were more successful in breeding the Roborovskis acquired from Russia and the Roborovskis now kept in the UK were imported by a hamster breeder from Holland in 1990.
It would be as recent as 1998 before a group of Roborovski Hamsters were imported by a hamster breeder into the US. Although the Roborovski is still quite rare in the United States.
In the past years there have been attempts to breed from Roborovskis caught from the wild in Russia, but they would fail to reproduce or die due to stress. The domesticated Roborovski has for the most part shed this breeding impairment as it becomes more widely bred and held as a pet.
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Availability |
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Roborovski availability remains limited in some parts of the world. Pet shops with a wide variety of rodents or specialized hamster breeders might sell them.
In some US states the Roborovski is classified as an exotic which requires the buyer to purchase a permit for them, ofcourse this doesn't help their salability.
Nevertheless demand for this agile and friendly animal is rising and more shops carry this species of hamster nowadays. The most widespread availability of Roborovskis hamsters is seen in European countries like the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium
Be aware when purchasing that a Roborovski is not considered a rare animal and thus try to resist buying them for too steep a price. Even the White Face color is becoming more common and this variation is not difficult to breed, so please do not take heed to claims of unicity and rarity of this type. |
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