Campbell's Hamster Colors
Campbell's dwarf hamsters are available in six basic colors plus many variations thereof. All are marked by a dark stripe down their back, the colour of which varies depending on the shade of their fur.| BASIC OR SINGLE GENE COLORS | ||
 Belly: White to off-white Undercoat: Gray Ear leathers: Gray Eyes: Black Dorsal stripe: Black This is the wild color without any mutations. Agouti colors have multiple bands of color on each hair and a more distinct dorsal stripe and side markings. Self colors have a single color on each hair with the belly color generally matching the color on the rest of the hamster’s body. It is also the color you will get if you breed two animals of different colors if they do have any common mutant genes (i.e. you breed an opal to an argente when neither carry the other color). |
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Shades: All white
Belly: White
Undercoat: White
Ear leathers: Pink
Eyes: Red
Dorsal stripe: None
The albino gene is unique among the recessive Campbell's genes. It "masks" other colors. That means that any hamster that has two albino genes (one from each parent) will always be albino in color. Thus, there are no combined colors with albino. Let's take an example. Suppose a hamster has two opal and two black genes, the resulting color would be the combined color of blue. If a hamster has two albino genes and two black genes, instead of being a combined color, he will be albino since the albino "masks" the black color.
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Shades: Cinnamon or sandy with no tipping
Belly: Ivory
Undercoat: Dark brown
Ear leathers: Pink
Eyes: Red
Dorsal stripe: Darker brown
The argente gene is a recessive gene. Being recessive means that a hamster needs two of these genes (one from each parent) to have the argente coloration. The argente gene can be carried recessively and not show up in the coat at all. Breeding to an argente or to another hamster carrying the argente gene, though, will produce some argente babies.
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Shades: Cream with brown tipping
Belly: Ivory
Undercoat: Dark brown
Ear leathers: Pink
Eyes: Black
Dorsal stripe: Darker brown
There is sometimes confusion about the argente and the black-eyed argente genes. These are two totally separate genes even though they share the term "argente." Mating an argente to a black-eyed argente will give all normals carrying these two genes but no argentes with either black or red eyes.
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Shades: Smokey grey with blue tipping
Belly: Off-white
Undercoat: Soft gray
Ear leathers: Dark gray
Eyes: Black
Dorsal stripe: Darker gray
The opal gene is a recessive gene. Being recessive means that a hamster needs two of these genes (one from each parent) to have the opal coloration. The opal gene can be carried recessively and not show up in the coat at all. Breeding to an opal or to another hamster carrying the opal gene, though, will produce some opal babies.
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Shades: Solid black with common white faults
Belly: Black
Undercoat: Black
Ear leathers: Dark Gray
Eyes: Black
Dorsal stripe: None
The black gene is a recessive gene. Being recessive means that a hamster needs two of these genes (one from each parent) to have the black coloration. The black gene can be carried recessively and not show up in the coat at all. Breeding to a black or to another hamster carrying the black gene, though, will produce some black babies. The black gene is unique among the hamster genes. All hamsters with two black genes (which includes the blacks as well as the combined colors using black such as blue and dove) will silver with age.
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| TWO GENE COLORS | ||
Shades: Dull ginger-beige
Belly: Undercoat: Ear leathers: Gray Eyes: Dorsal stripe: Brown Beige is a two-gene color which is the combination of the argente and black-eyed argente (BEA) genes. To get beiges, you would breed the red-eyed argente to the black-eyed argente. All babies would be normal carrying argente and BEA. You would then breed two of these normals together. From this pairing, you should get 9/16 normals, 3/16 argentes, 3/16 BEAs, and 1/16 lilac fawns. |
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Shades: Soft Ginger with blue tint
Belly: Cream
Undercoat: Blue-gray
Ear leathers: Pink
Eyes: Red
Dorsal stripe: Blue-gray
Blue fawn is a combination of the opal and argente genes. It is not difficult to breed blue fawns if you have both an opal and an argente hamster -- but you must have both genes. All babies would be normal carrying opal and argente. You would then breed two of these normals together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 normals, 3/16 opals, 3/16 argentes, and 1/16 blue fawns.
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Shades: Light dull ginger
Belly: Ivory
Undercoat: Blue-gray
Ear leathers: Soft gray
Eyes: Black
Dorsal stripe: Soft blue-gray
Lilac fawn is a combination of the opal and black-eyed argente genes. It is not difficult to breed lilac fawns if you have both an opal and a black-eyed argente -- but you must have both genes. To get lilac fawns, you would breed the opal to the black-eyed argente. All babies would be normal carry opal and BEA. You would then breed two of these normals together. From this pairing, you should get 9/16 normals, 3/16 opals, 3/16 BEAs, and 1/16 lilac fawns.
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Shades: Steel blue-gray
Belly:
Undercoat:
Ear leathers: Gray
Eyes: Black
Dorsal stripe: Darker blue-gray
Blue is a combination of the opal and black genes. It is not difficult to breed blues if you have both an opal and a black hamster -- but you must have both genes. You would then breed two of these normals together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 normals, 3/16 opals, 3/16 blacks, and 1/16 blues.
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Shades: dark dove gray-brown
Belly:
Undercoat:
Ear leathers: Pink
Eyes: Red
Dorsal stripe: Dark brown
Dove is a argente and black genes. To get doves, you would breed the argente to the black. All babies would be normal carrying argente and black. You would then breed two of these normals together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 normals, 3/16 argentes, 3/16 blacks, and 1/16 doves. The doves should be a rich brown color and will have red eyes due to the argente gene. They look very similar to the chocolate dwarves with the exception of the eye color.
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Shades: Dark chocolate brown
Belly: White Patches
Undercoat: Dark chocolate brown
Ear leathers: Gray ears
Eyes: Black
Dorsal stripe: Darker chocolate brown
Chocolate is a combination of the black-eyed argente and black genes. To get chocolates, you would breed the BEA to the black. All babies would be normal carrying BEA and black. You would then breed two of these normals together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 normals, 3/16 BEAs, 3/16 blacks, and 1/16 chocolates. The chocolates should be a rich dark brown. They are very similar in color to the doves except that the chocolates have black eyes.
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Due to the silvering nature of the black gene, all hamsters with two black genes (which includes the blacks as well as the combined colors using black such as blue, dove and chocolate) will silver with age. Some silver early while others silver later in life. Also due to the black gene, all two gene colors are self. Self colored hamsters are the same color all over (belly and back) with no scallops on the sides. Most also have white paws and a chin stripe while some have white patches on their bellies too. It is not yet known if this silvering is a different gene or if it is part of the black gene. If it is another gene, it is closely linked to the black gene.
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| THREE GENE COLORS | ||
 Shades: Soft lilac-gray
Belly:
Undercoat:
Ear leathers: Pink
Eyes: Red
Dorsal stripe:
Red-eyed Lilacis a three-gene color which is the combination of the opal, red-eyed argente, and black genes.To breed an RE Lilac, you would start with two different two-gene colors like blue fawn and blue (dove works equally as well if you make the substitutions). Between them you need to cover the three genes needed for RE Lilac with one color overlapping. Since blue fawn is the two-gene color for opal and red-eyed argente, you are only missing the black gene to get RE Lilac. Since blue is the two-gene color for opal and black, you are only missing the red-eyed argente gene to get to RE Lilac. So you would breed the blue fawn to the blue with opal being the overlapping gene. All babies would be opal carrying RE argente and black. You would then breed two of these opals together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 opals, 3/16 blue fawns, 3/16 blues, and 1/16 RE Lilac.
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Shades: Soft lilac-gray
Belly:
Undercoat:
Ear leathers: Gray
Eyes: Black
Dorsal stripe:
Black-eyed Lilac is the three-gene color which is the combination of the opal, black-eyed argente, and black genes. To breed an BE Lilac, you would start with two different two-gene colors like lilac fawn and blue (chocolate works equally as well if you make the substitutions). Between them you need to cover the three genes needed for BE Lilac with one color overlapping. Since lilac fawn is the two-gene color for opal and black-eyed argente, you are only missing the black gene to get BE Lilac. Since blue is the two-gene color for opal and black, you are only missing the black-eyed argente gene to get to BE Lilac. So you would breed the lilac fawn to the blue with opal being the overlapping gene. All babies would be opal carrying BEA and black. You would then breed two of these opals together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 opals, 3/16 lilac fawns, 3/16 blues, and 1/16 BE Lilac.
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Shades: Beige with blue tints
Belly: Ivory
Undercoat: Gray
Ear leathers: Gray
Eyes: Red
Dorsal stripe: Light blue-gray
Blue beige is the three-gene color which is the combination of the opal, red-eyed argente, and black-eyed argente genes.To breed a blue beige, you would start with two different two-gene colors like blue fawn and lilac fawn (beige works equally as well if you just make substitutions). Between them, you need to cover the three genes needed for blue beige with one color overlapping. Since blue fawn is the two-gene color for opal and red-eyed argente, you are only missing the black-eyed argente gene to get to blue beige. Since lilac fawn is the two-gene color of opal and black-eyed argente, you are only missing the red-eyed argente gene to get to blue beige. So you would breed the blue fawn to the lilac fawn with opal being the overlapping gene. All babies would be opal carrying RE argente and BE argente. You would then breed two of these opals together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 opals, 3/16 blue fawns, 3/16 lilac fawns, and 1/16 blue beige.
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Shade: Dark beige
Belly:
Undercoat:
Ear leathers: Pink Ears
Eyes: Red Eyes
Dorsal stripe:
Dark beige is the three-gene color which is the combination of the red-eyed argente, black-eyed argente, and black genes. To breed a dark beige, you would start with two different two-gene colors like beige and dove (chocolate works equally as well if you make the substitution). Between them, you need to cover the three genes needed for dark beige with one color overlapping. Since beige is the two-gene color for red-eyed argente and black-eyed argente, you are only missing the black gene to get dark beige. Since dove is the two-gene color for red-eyed argente and black, you are only missing the black-eyed argente gene to get to dark beige. So you would breed the beige to the dove with red-eyed argente being the overlapping gene. All babies would be red-eyed argente carrying black-eyed argente and black. You would then breed two of these argentes together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 argentes, 3/16 beige, 3/16 dove, and 1/16 dark beige.
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| FOUR GENE COLOR | ||
Shades: Light beige
Belly:
Undercoat:
Ear leathers: Pink
Eyes: Red
Dorsal stripe:
Champagne is the four-gene color. It is the combination of all four of the currently known color genes in the Campbells: Opal, Argente, Black-eyed Argente, and Black. To breed a Champagne, you would start with two different three-gene colors like Red-eyed Lilac (RE Lilac) and Blue Beige (Dark Beige or Black-eyed Lilac work equally as well if you make the substitutions). Between these two hamsters, you cover all four of the combinable Campbells color genes. Since RE Lilac is the combined color for Black, Opal, and Argente, you are only missing the Black-eyed Argente gene to get to Champagne. Since Blue Beige is the combined color for Opal, Argente, and Black-eyed Argente, you are only missing the Black gene to get to Champagne.So you would breed the RE Lilac to the Blue Beige. Since Opal and Argente are the overlapping colors, you should get all Blue Fawn babies carrying Black and Black-eyed Argente. You would then breed two of these Blue Fawn babies together. From this pairing, you should get approximately 9/16 Blue Fawns, 3/16 RE Lilac, 3/16 Blue Beige, and 1/16 Champagne. |
Combining the different mutations has produced new colors. Contrary to some claims, the different colors and markings of hamsters do not indicate personality differences. Most breeders attempt to predict personality by closely examining the bloodline and any neurological diseases the hamster's ancestors displayed.
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Campbell's Hamster Patterns
| PLATINUM | ||||||||
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White hairs mingled in the coat ranging from a few to almost total coverage – sometimes incorrectly called pearl.
The platinum gene is a dominant and lethal gene. Being dominant means that a hamster only needs one of these genes, and he will have the platinum pattern. It also means that the gene cannot be carried.
The lethal part of the gene means that there are no hamsters with two platinum genes. All have one platinum and one non-platinum gene. Those hamsters who did have two platinum genes (got one from each parent) die in the womb and are reabsorbed by the mother. It does her no harm. It does mean that the number of babies in litters born to two platinums are 25% smaller on average than those born to a platinum and a non-platinum. The surviving babies are entirely healthy and normal, however, and can be bred or kept as pets without any concern for health problems (beyond those of any Campbells).
Platinums can range from mostly colored with very few white hairs to mostly white with very few colored hairs. In the extreme, a Dilute Platinum is an entirely white hamster.
The dilute platinum is believed to be the combination of the platinum gene and the dilute gene. The platinum gene is a dominant, homozygous lethal gene and is discussed on the platinum page. The dilute gene is one of the least understood of the Campbells genes. It has not yet even been documented as a gene or given a genetic symbol, but it is believe to be a recessive gene.
One of the reasons that it is so hard to understand the dilute is that it is really only visible with two other genes: the platinum gene and potentially the black gene. As you can see above with the platinum gene, it removes all color. You are left with a totally white hamster with either black or red eyes depending on the genetic make-up of the hamster. The red-eyed can easily be confused with Albinos, and indeed they are impossible to differentiate by phenotype alone. Knowing the pedigree or doing test matings may be the only way to differentiate a red-eyed dilute platinum from an Albino.
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| MOTTLED | ||||||||
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Irregular white patches or spots – also called banded, spotted, or collared, if the mottling is confined to the neck.
The mottled gene is a dominant gene. Being dominant means that a hamster only needs one of these genes, and he will have the mottled pattern. It also means that the gene cannot be carried.
You need to know if your mottleds have this dominant ruby-eyed gene or not. If they have it, you need to avoid breeding two ruby-eyed mottleds together. The reason is that the 25% of the babies will receive two ruby-eyed genes (one from each parent). These babies will be toothless/eyeless whites. Most die at about two weeks of age since they cannot make the switch from milk to solid food due to their lack of teeth. This can be avoided by only breeding ruby-eyed mottleds to unpatterned or to platinum dwarves.
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Campbell's Hamster Coat Types
Campbell's dwarf hamsters are born with one of four coat types: normal, satin, wavy and rex.| NORMAL | ||||||||
The normal coat is short and flat.
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| SATIN | ||||||||
The satin coat can appear in combination with any color and/or any pattern. Thus, there are opal satins, opal mottled satins, opal platinum satins, etc. Some people have believed that their hamsters were sick since they always look wet. This is just the nature of this coat type. The hair tends to be a bit longer and thinner also. These hamsters have sometimes been called "silkies" although this is purely a nickname.
The satin coat is shiny and gives the appearance of being wet or greasy and the gene enhances the fur's color and gives it lift.
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| WAVY | ||||||||
The wavy coat is slightly long and wavy; the whiskers are curly when young and, although the coat moults out to a normal coat, the curly whiskers remain through adulthood.
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| REX | ||||||||
The rex coat is a soft, short coat which is curled so as to be "lifted" from the body and the whiskers are curly. The rex coat is often sparse and remains curled even in adult hamsters.
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Sources: Wikipedia, AAA Hamsters
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