Campbell's Dwarf Hamster (Phodopus campbelli) Genetics
Agouti colors (off-white/cream belly, 3 side arches, dorsal stripe, banded hair shafts)
| Color | Genotype | Key traits |
|---|---|---|
| Normal (wild type) | ++ | Brown back, black tipping, orange arch line, gray undercoat, black stripe, black eyes, gray ears |
| Black Eyed Argente (BEA) | bb | Cream with ginger-brown tipping, ivory belly, dark brown undercoat, black eyes, pink ears |
| Opal | dd | Smoky gray with blue tipping, soft gray undercoat, darker gray stripe, black eyes, dark gray ears |
| Dark Gray | dgdg | Line from a SoCal commercial breeder supplying pet stores; very diabetes-prone |
| Argente | pp | Bright orange, no tipping, ivory belly, brown stripe, red eyes, pink ears |
| Lilac Fawn | bb dd | Light dull ginger, blue-gray undercoat and stripe, black eyes, gray ears |
| Beige | bb pp | Dull ginger-beige, brown stripe, red eyes, gray ears |
| Blue Fawn | dd pp | Soft ginger with blue tint, blue-gray undercoat, red eyes, pink ears |
| Blue Beige | bb dd pp | Beige with blue tint, gray undercoat, red eyes, gray ears |
Self colors (one color base to tip; common white faults on moustache, chin, paws, sometimes a zipper)
| Color | Genotype | Key traits |
|---|---|---|
| Black | aa | Solid black, some with white wings or collars; black eyes, dark gray ears. Silvering may be a separate gene linked to black |
| Chocolate | aa bb | Dark chocolate brown, black eyes, gray ears |
| Blue | aa dd | Steel blue-gray, black eyes, gray ears |
| Dove | aa pp | Dark dove gray-brown, red eyes, pink ears |
| Black Eyed Lilac (BEL) | aa bb dd | Soft lilac-gray, black eyes, gray ears |
| Dark Beige | aa bb pp | Dark beige to the roots, red eyes, pink ears |
| Red Eyed Lilac (REL) | aa dd pp | Soft lilac-gray, red eyes, pink ears. Mnemonic: Dove is Darker, Lilac is Lighter |
| Champagne | aa bb dd pp | Light beige, red eyes, pink ears |
| Black Eyed White (BEW) | didi P- Si- | Platinum plus dilute; dilute washes out all color and makes SiSi survivable |
| Red Eyed White (REW) | didi pp Si- | Same as BEW but pp; indistinguishable from albino without breeding or known parentage |
Modifiers that affect any color
- Albino (cc): all white, red eyes, pink ears, masks all other genes
- Umbrous (uu): gray wash over any color, turns an off-white belly gray. Can hide mottling, which is why unknown genotypes are risky
White patterns
- Platinum (Sisi): dominant; SiSi is lethal unless paired with didi (BEW/REW)
- Micro BEW / microphthalmus (SiSi Didi?): suspected SiSi surviving with only one dilute copy; small eye(s), usually a smaller animal
- Red Eyed Mottled (Mimi): reddish eye tinge under light in black-eyed animals, invisible in red-eyed colors. MiMi = anophthalmic whites: eyeless, toothless, dead by about 14 days. Never breed two red eyed mottleds, and if you can't confirm black eyed mottled, don't pair two mottleds at all
- Black Eyed Mottled (Mo-): looks the same but no eye tinge and not homozygous lethal; uncommon, so assume red eyed mottled
Other patterns: Brindle appeared in California but couldn't be reproduced. Mosaic is a single patch missing one of the body's genes (example given: a mottled Dark Beige with a patch between ear and eye that could be loss of Black, BEA, or Argente).
Coat types (compatible with any color or pattern)
Satin (sasa): longer, clumpy, "greasy" looking coat that also darkens the base colorWinter White Dwarf Hamster hybrid "Sunfire" or "Flame Djungarian" or "Pudding" Genetics:
