Emma Jones
These golden hamster colors are available in all possible coat shape variants. The English breeding standard only differentiates between solid and agouti-colored hamsters. An agouti-colored hamster can be difficult to distinguish from a wild-colored hamster for some beginners, as both forms have dark stripes on the cheeks and ticking. In the case of the monochromatic golden hamsters, the abdomen and back have one and the same color. It is worth mentioning that cream-colored golden hamsters are considered to be particularly peaceful and well-tolerated.
The wild-colored golden hamster looks the most similar to the wild golden hamster and is therefore not called the “primordial golden hamster” without reason. Dark stripes can be seen on the cheeks and white stripes on the neck. The belly is white, and the hair on the back is tricolor: black, brown, and tawny. This type of coloring is also called “agouti”. The golden hamster is considered easy to tame, even if it can be moody at times. In terms of health, he is very robust.
Agouti colored and solid-colored hamsters
Albino Hamster
The albino hamster has no color pigments and therefore appears completely white. Like other albinos in the animal kingdom, the eyes are red because the blood shows through. From a genetic point of view, however, there are no real albinos in golden hamsters. Usually, there are still isolated color pigments.
Russian or Siamese hamster
This breed of hamster has an even white coat, similar to the albino. However, he has dark markings on his ears, nose, paws, and tail.
Piebald hamster
The piebald hamster comes in all possible color variants. The fur can be spotted but also striped. Pied hamsters are said to be harder to tame and slightly more aggressive.
Long-haired hamster
The long-haired hamsters include the popular and very good-natured teddy hamster and the angora hamster. The two can be distinguished by the different fur structures. While the teddy hamsters have a very “messy” hairstyle, with the hair sticking out on all sides, the fur of the angora hamsters forms a “neat” middle parting. The fur requires a lot of care because it grows throughout life. The fur of the males is usually longer than that of the female animals. Keeping a long-haired hamster is not recommended for beginners because of the time-consuming care involved.
Satin or Silky Hamster
This type of hamster has a particularly silky shiny coat. This is caused by a gene that works independently of the coat color or coat length. However, when two satin hamsters are mated together, the offspring can subsequently have the gene duplicated, causing a very thin hair texture. Therefore, this particular form of breeding is not easy to propagate. Satin hamsters, like long-haired hamsters, are considered to be very good-natured. Like Campbell’s and Roborowski’s dwarf hamsters, the Djungarian hamster is one of the short-tailed representatives of its kind. The three white bulges with a black borderline in the fur are generally characteristic of the Djungarian on both sides. This black dividing line distinguishes them from the Campbell’s dwarf hamsters. Since 2004 there have been other coat colors that are not described in detail here. The palette now ranges from “Orange” to “Brown” to “Merle”. The most common breeding colors are presented below.
Wild colors
In the original form, the Djungarian hamster has a grey-brown coat with a dark dorsal line running from head to tail. With the exception of the Roborowskis, this is a characteristic feature of all dwarf hamsters. The belly is plain white in color.
Blue deer colors/sapphire
The blue and wild Djungarians are not widespread, since the gene responsible for them is passed on recessively. Basically, they are very similar to their wild-colored relatives, but they are more blue-grey in color and the dorsal streak is dark blue rather than black. The first sapphire Hungarian saw the light of day in England in 1988.
Mother of Pearl / Pearl
The pearlescent Djungarian hamster is more widespread. The Pearl gene is inherited in a dominant manner. It must not be confused with the white winter coat. The winter coat of the Djungarian is all white, in contrast to the pearlescent Djungarian, which has a black-grey hairline. The eyes are black. In their original form, Campbell’s dwarf hamsters have brownish-beige fur. The dorsal stripe is black and the belly is white. The paws are hairy, as is the case with the Djungarians since this dwarf hamster also penetrates cold areas in the wild. The Campbell’s coat seems a bit shaggy on the neck.
Argent
This color variant has beige to yellow fur on the back and white fur on the belly. The dorsal stripe is brown. The Argent Campbell’s eyes can be red or black. Argent is an extremely popular color among dwarf hamster keepers and is therefore very common.
Black
Black Campbells are not completely black. They have white paws, a white belly, and a white bib. This color variant is also widespread among dwarf hamster keepers.
Opal
Like the sapphire of the Djungarian dwarf hamster, this color is very similar to the wild coloring. However, a gray-blue shimmer can be seen.
Albino
Albino Campbells lack any color pigment. Therefore, the coat appears completely white and the eyes appear red. The reason for the red eyes is that you can see the blood showing through.
Satin
The Satin Campbells have a particularly shiny coat. Satin can appear in conjunction with all coat colors. As nice as that may sound, the coat often looks unkempt because of this sheen. It tends to get fat. Satin hamsters should therefore only be fed a low-fat diet and the litter should consist entirely of chinchilla sand. The first Satin Campbell was born in Great Britain in 1981. piebald
White spots of different shapes and sizes are called piebalds. They can appear in connection with all other colors. Their colorful fur makes them very popular among dwarf hamster friends. However, one should not cross two piebalds together, as this will result in stillbirth and deformities! The coat of the original form is earth brown. The ventral side is white with a slightly darker undercoat. The Chinese dwarf received the name “striped hamster” because of the particularly clearly defined eel line on its back.
Checked
The first striped hamster was born in England in 1981. The spots were caused by a mutation and are usually distributed all over the body. Only the ventral side is completely white. The standard for shows states that there must be a spot on the head. However, this variant is not widespread because many boys who carry the gene die in the womb.
White
This color was created for the first time in Switzerland. It is believed that there are two forms of the color white; one that is dominant and one that is recessive. In any case, the striped hamster is completely white except for the dorsal stripe and has large black eyes. Unfortunately, males are often infertile. However, the white form of the Chinese striped hamster is not an albino.