Preparations & Holding the Hamster

Roborovski's are sometimes very fast and prefer not to be held for long periods of time so the best way to sex them is to hold them by the scruff of the neck - the skin on the back of their neck, just behind the ears. This will not hurt them and most of them will 'play dead' and stay very still if you hold them at the correct place - try not to hold their ears and make sure you have a firm grip but try not to hold them like this for too long because it can stress them out if they are held like it for too long. 

If you are really not keen on doing this and you think that this is hurting your Roborovski, then a then a much simpler solution is at hand. Separate their current cage or aquarium into quaters or halves (depending on how many Roborvski's you have) and make sure that there is one Roborovski in each section. If you have one hamster, then there is no need to do all of that. Now, you need to have a clear transparent plastic container. Put the Roborovskis in there one by one and follow the instructions below to tell them apart. Put one in, check it and take it out.

Determining the Gender

Both sexes have two openings - on a female these openings will be very close together and may even just look like one, but on the male they will be further apart. Also, the male will usually have a visible scent gland above the two openings where his belly button would be:

This might look like a yellowish stain. Click the image above for a larger version.

If you have two hamsters and they look the same then it will be hard to tell the difference because you will not have anything to compare, but will probally turn out to be the same sex.

If you have a male and a female then the chances are that the female will be pregnant - if not yet then she will probably be soon if kept caged together. If they were from the same litter then it is not a good idea to let them breed - it will be best to separate them if you do have a male and female from the same litter!