The 'original' color of the Syrian Hamster in the wild is golden brown with an ivory belly, dark cheek flashes and ivory crescents. Occasionally a mutation occurs resulting in a new color. In the wild these mutations may not survive but in captivity such hamsters are kept and bred from in order to maintain the mutation. As a result in captivity a number of additional colors to the original wild brownish-grey have been established.
Some color mutations are referred to as Agouti color mutations whilst others are referred to as Self color mutations. Agouti means that the hamster has the original wild markings, that is the coat is a darker color at the roots (undercolor) than on the top, the belly is off-white and the hamster has darker cheekflashes which extend from the bottom of the jaw up towards the ear with off-white crescents behind. Self colored hamsters are the same color all over (top and belly) with no cheekflashes - these usually have a white chin stripe and may also have a white spot or patch on the chest or belly.
In addition to the agouti and self color mutations that occurred over the years a variety of additional colors can be created by combining the different color mutations together.
Click on the pictures below for more information on the different color mutations of the Syrian Hamster.