Ernie (Adopted)

Species: Roborovski dwarf

Gender: Male

Estimated Age: 8 months

Likes: Burrowing, marathons, and people watching.

Dislikes: Fast moving hands, negativity, and hard biscuits.

Fosterer’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deep.space.ham9/ 


Named after the round-nosed, friendly muppet from Sesame Street, Ernie is as cute and curious as can be! And like Ernie, he LOVES his bathtime! (Rubber ducky not included.) Resembling a sentient fuzzy ping-pong ball, Ernie is never at a loss for energy and the moment he is awake, you’ll see him zigging and zagging his way around his enclosure. Like all Robos, Ernie is very cautious around hands and not a fan of loud noises. However once he learns that you are not a threat, he will begin to trust you enough to eat any food you offer him from your very hands. 


Like many of the Robos you’ll find at HSS, Ernie came from an unfortunate situation with over SIXTY (60!!) of his kind and as a result has never truly learned how to do certain hamster-y things. Such as filing down his nails. Lucky for you though, Ernie has never bitten his fosterer! Just keep a close eye on his little paws and make sure they don’t get too long and you will have one happy Robo-bobo. 


Although he mostly comes out at night, you will often see him poke his head out during the day for a drink of water, or to snuffle around for a snack or two. He is the absolute happiest when zooming on his wheel and digging deep into his bedding - so make sure you have a quiet wheel and that he has enough bedding to burrow down in! 


Hot tip: Put your finger behind his butt when he runs, and flatten him gently on the wheel for maximum fluffy contact.



*Requirements:

Cage: Min. 90x50x50cm

  • Acrylic tank preferred

Wheel: Min. 21cm

Bedding: 

  • Oxbow Pure Comfort 

    • Currently using the natural brown colour as I have found in the past that the white and coloured varieties are very dusty.

    • I also find it to be a great bedding for tunnelling when slightly pressed down.

      • NOTE: it is important to manually crumble the compressed bedding when it is taken from the packaging while the hamster is NOT in the enclosure as this can create dust. Once this is done though, it will be fine for the hamster:). 

  • OPTIONAL: Timothy hay to provide texture and structure for tunnelling mixed into the paper bedding.

    • Currently using Niteangel, but Oxbow and Kaytee are also ok.

    • ALTERNATIVE: Can also use the Marukan brand of Aspen shavings.

      • Optional: Shredded tissue paper for a pop of colour! 

        • EG: IKEA brand coloured paper napkins.

Food: 

  • Currently using Bunny Nature Hamster Dream Expert mixed with FatPouches Ultimate Hamster Seed Mix

    • I encourage you to also get a foraging mix from FatPouches such as the Foraging Seed Mix or Delight Mix! This can be sprinkled and/or lightly mixed into the bedding every few days. 

    • Alternative foraging choices can simply be another brand of Syrian seed mix such as Rodipet brand to provide diversity in “healthy” feed/foraging.

    • As well as a mix of protein. The following have his seal of approval:

      • Crickets and Superworms

      • Chicken, Beef, Venison  

Enrichment:

  • At least 3 hideouts 

    • Can be one large nesting area/chamber hideout and 2 smaller ceramic or cardboard hideouts.

      • Trustie brand from PLC for the smaller ones is a good option.

      • A main nesting area can be made by connecting 2 hideouts with one tunnel (EG: plain tunnel with middle hole, or T shaped tunnel)

  • He enjoys burrowing in piles of bedding, and to facilitate that (and make it easier for me to clean) I place a ceramic hideout and cover it with bedding so he can dig his own little tunnels!

    • Since he is such a small creature, it should be very easy for you to create enough height for him to dig around in.

  • OPTIONAL: I’ve given him a little bowl with cocopeat for him to have something else to dig around in and buried non perishable treats such as in shell nuts and seeds and trimmed sprays that he seems to enjoy!