short haired |
Genetic Code: LL/L-
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The Short Haired coat is the original coat of the Syrian hamster. The coat is short and dense all over the body. Some short haired hamsters may occasionally have a few longer hairs in the coat but these are only visible on close inspection.
All colors and patterns can be produced in Short Haired and Short Haired can be combined with Satin and Rex coats to produce Short Haired Satin, Short Haired Rex and even Short Haired Satin Rex. |
long haired |
Genetic Code: ll
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The Long Haired coat mutation occurred in 1972 in the USA. Females have a longer coat than the normal short haired, having a fluffy appearance. However due to the mutation being affected by testosterone it is the males that can develop the stunning long coats. Some males may have a few tufts of long hairs emerging from the hips or around the bottom whilst others may have thick long fur all other the back and sides.
It is possible to produce Long Haired hamsters in all colors and coat patterns and the Long Haired can be combined with Satin to produce Long Haired Satin and Rex to produce Long Haired Rex, or even Long Haired Satin Rex. |
rex |
Genetic Code: rxrx
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The Rex coat mutation occurred in 1970 although it is unclear in which country it first occurred. The Rex mutation causes the coat to curl slightly so that the hairs are lifted away from the body. This gives a Short Haired Hamster a thick plush looking coat and on a Long Haired Hamster can cause the coat to appear a little unkept. The Rex mutation also causes the whiskers to become curly.
Rex can be combined with Short Haired, Long Haired and Satin. |
satin |
Genetic Code: Sasa (Super Satin/Double Satin: SaSa)
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The Satin mutation appeared in 1968 but it is unclear in which country it first occurred. The Satin has a glossy coat with a definite shine. This shine can cause the colour to appear darker than normal and White Satin Hamsters may look slightly yellowy white.
Satin can be combined with any color and pattern and can be combined with any coat type to produce Short Haired Satin, Long Haired Satin, and Short and Long Haired Rex Satin. Satin in it's heterozygous form (Sa-) is perfectly okay, however Satin in it's Homozygous form (SaSa) is known to cause the coat to be thinner, brittle and in a lot of individuals, causes bald patches. The Homozygous form of Satin is often termed "Double Satin" and "Super Satin". There is currently no official name for it, seeing as it is undesirable, so either can be used. |
hairless |
Genetic Code: hrhr
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The Hairless is not available in all countries and is not a mutation that will appeal to all. It some countries it is labelled as the "Alien Hamster".
Hairless hamsters need to be bred extremely carefully as it is necessary to produce haired hamsters that carry the hairless gene in order to breed as female Hairless hamsters are often unable to produce milk for their young. Wide and irresponsible distribution of these haired hamsters could cause an "outbreak" of hairless hamsters to appear in the future. Ethics of Hairless Hamsters [Important, please read] Hairless Hamsters are considered on the whole to be an unethical mutation, the reasoning for this is as such: Females that express the Hairless gene are unable to lactate and any pups born from a Hairless Expressing female will die. A female coated Hamster carrying the Hairless gene needs to be used. Hairless Hamsters have been known to have increased rate of Cancer and Tumors. Hairless Hamsters have a higher incidence of dry skin compared to coated Hamsters and a lot of them need to be rubbed with coconut oil if dry skin occurs. Thermoregulation is more difficult. |