banded |
Genetic Code: Ba_
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The Banded white pattern mutation occurred in 1957 in the USA. The Banded pattern turns the belly to pure white and places a band of white across the middle of the back. The band across the back may be incomplete resulting in a line of colour breaking through the centre of the band or there may be coloured spots within the white band across the back.
The Banded white pattern can be combined with any color to produce a Banded variety of that color e.g. Golden Banded, Cinnamon Banded, etc. For showing the band should take up the middle third of the body with no colored spots or breaks in the band. The borders between color and band should be straight as possible. Breeding note for Banded Because of the Banded gene making the belly completely white, it is ill advised to breed the Banded genes together or to any other gene that causes a white belly (Dom Spot, etc.) the reasoning for this is because you cannot see whether the "Wh" gene is present. The only time you should breed any two hamsters together that have a white belly is if you have a Pedigree in which you can see if the Wh gene would be present. |
dominant spot |
Genetic Code: Ds
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The Dominant Spot white pattern mutation occurred in 1964 in the USA. The Dominant Spot pattern turns the belly to pure white and and back leaving only spots or large patches of coloring. The amount of spotting varies immensely with some Dominant Spots having very little white showing on the back whilst others are white on the back with clearly defined small spots of color.
The Dominant Spot white pattern can be combined with any color to produce a Dominant variety of that color. For the show bench the Dominant Spot should have the appearance of a white hamster with small clear spots of color evenly spread across the back. Breeding Note for Dominant Spot The Dominant Spot gene as well as hiding the Wh gene is a Homozygous Lethal gene. Any pups that have the genotype of "DsDs", basically have inherited 2 copies of the Dominant Spot gene, will die in utero. Whilst it doesn't effect the mother hamster nor the pups because they are not born, it does produce a smaller litter. |
polywhite |
Genetic Code: wh(p)
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Polywhite is a recessive gene. In it's early days this gene was known as White Bellow and Sprinkle but "Polywhite" is the official name for the gene. This gene has thus far been combined with Cream, Sable and Black. The most commonly produced is a Black Polywhite. Holmden Hill Haven in America is the Hamstery that figured out the way the gene works and thus also gave this gene it's code.
This gene works very similar to the White Bellied gene. One of the key differences is Polywhite is recessive. Polywhite when expressed on cream and yellow hamsters cause Roaning, just like the Dominant White Bellied gene, both Polywhite and the White Bellied gene cause an increase in white on the belly. When the Polywhite Gene is combined with the Dominant Spot gene it creates a mostly white animal with a few dots of colour, similar to the spots on a Dalmatian. |
recessive dappled |
Genetic Code: rdrd
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roan |
Genetic Code: Any cream based colour + Wh
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One mutation, the Anophthalmic White mutation can produce two different types of white pattern - White Bellied and Roan. The Anophthalmic White mutation occurred in the USA in 1958.
With cream based colors (such as Black Eyed Cream, Red Eyed Cream, Sable, Chocolate (Sable), Copper, Mink, Blue Mink, etc) the Anophthalmic White gene produces a Roan where the coat has both white and colored hairs intermingled. Many Roan hamsters have coloring on the head but lack a good amount of coloring on the body. For showing the hamster is required to have a marbled appearance of color over the back. With non-cream based colors (such as Golden, Cinnamon, Yellow, Dark Gray, Black, Silver Gray, etc) the Anophthalmic White gene products a White Bellied version of that color and the normal ivory belly is turned to pure white or has a very large patch of white on it. Sometimes the hamster can also have a small sprinkling of white hairs on the back somewhere. The Anophthalmic White gene can produce eyeless white hamsters when the offspring inherit two Anophthalmic White genes. Therefore Roans or White Bellied hamsters (from the Anophthalmic White gene) should not be mated together or to each other as 25% of the litter will inherit two Anophthalmic White genes and be eyeless whites. The Anophthalmic White gene should not be confused with the Banded or Dominant Spot genes where these genes also changes the belly color to white as part of their pattern. Of course it is possible to combine the Anophthalmic White gene with the Dominant Spot or Banded genes and so some Dominant Spot or Banded Hamsters could also be Anophthalmic White and eyeless whites would then be produced if these were mated to any other hamster which containing the Anophthalmic White gene. Roans and White Bellied Hamsters (from the Anophthalmic White gene) tend to have a ruby glow in the centre of the eye and this is most often seen by shining a torch into the hamster's eye. However, this glow can be extremely difficult to see on red eyed colours. |
tortoiseshell |
Genetic Code: Any colour + ToTo
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The Tortoiseshell occurred some time after 1962. The Tortoiseshell is sex linked and all Tortoiseshell hamsters are female. The Tortoiseshell is a bi-coloured hamster being a mixture of two colours using the Yellow gene. The coat of the Golden Tortoiseshell is a mixture of patches of golden-brown with grey roots (Golden) and patches of creamy yellow (Yellow). Often there is some brindling between the two colours. The eyes are black (as with the Golden) and the ears and dark grey (as with the Golden).
It is possible to produce Tortoiseshell in other colors, for example Cinnamon Tortoiseshell where the hamster has patches of Cinnamon coloring and a honey-yellow coloring. In this instance the eyes are red and the ears are flesh colored as they are with the Cinnamon. The most striking Tortoiseshell is the Black Tortoiseshell. Tortoiseshell hamsters are female as the Yellow gene is sex linked but very occasionally a male Tortoiseshell is produced when a male hamster contains 3 sex chromosomes (two female chromosomes and one male chromosome) instead of the normal two. In the US the term "calico" is sometimes used for Tortoiseshell hamsters. The Tortoiseshell can be combined with any coat type, and can also be combined with a pattern such as Banded to produce a tri-colored hamster. For showing the Tortoiseshell should have equal amounts of color and "yellow" and the Tortoiseshell and white should have equal amounts of color, "yellow" and white. The borders between the colors should be clearly marked with little or no brindling. Breeding Notes for Tortoiseshells Although Tortoiseshell is completely harmless, there are some undesirable colours to have as a tortoiseshell; - Cream + Tort. This creates a colour known as Ghost Yellow which can be a nightmare to phenotype and remove from a line. - Silver Grey + Tort. This creates a visually unappealing hamster, but no outward health issues. - Golden + Tort. This creates an animal that is near impossible to tell if tort or not because the tort patches blend into the Golden. - Cinnamon + Tort. Again, this creates a near impossible to see tort animal. |
umbrous |
Genetic Code: U_
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Umbrous isn't really a pattern gene, but it doesn't fit anywhere else and pattern is the best way to describe it. Umbrous commonly causes a hamsters colour to look as though it's been brushed with soot. It has been combined with most colours. The most commonly seen expression of Umbrous is Sable Hamsters which are a combination of Umbrous and Cream.
Umbrous is also quite commonly found in Golden colored Hamsters and causes a really dark browning. |