Agouti Colors
Agouti colors have off-white to cream bellies, three side arches, a darker dorsal stripe, and banded hair shafts.
Normal (wild type)
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Dominant. Brown back with black tipping and a yellow line along the arches. Gray undercoat and a black dorsal stripe. The eyes are black and the ears are gray.
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| "wild type" Campbell's Dwarf Hamster |
Black Eyed Argente (BEA)
bb
Recessive. Cream with dull ginger-brown tipping, an ivory belly, and a dark brown-grey undercoat. The eyes are black and the ears are pink.
Opal
dd
Recessive. Smoky gray with blue tipping, a soft gray undercoat, and a darker gray dorsal stripe. The eyes are black and the ears are dark gray.
Dark Gray
dgdg
Recessive. Keeps black pigment in the fur while removing yellow tones. Features a deep, chinchilla-like dark gray coat without warm brownish or yellow hues. Allegedly originally a line from a Southern California commercial breeder that supplied pet stores. May be very prone to diabetes and spinal issues.
Argente
pp
Recessive. Bright orange with no tipping, an ivory belly, and a brown dorsal stripe. The eyes are red and the ears are pink.
Lilac Fawn
bb dd
Light, dull ginger with a blue-gray undercoat and stripe. The eyes are black and the ears are gray. It requires two copies each of the black-eyed argente (bb) and opal (dd) recessive genes.
Beige
bb pp
Dull ginger-beige with a brown dorsal stripe. The eyes are red and the ears are gray. Requires two copies each of both Black-eyed argente (bb) and (pp) red eyed argente recessive genes.
Blue Fawn
dd pp
Soft ginger with a blue tint and a blue-gray undercoat. The eyes are red and the ears are pink. It requires two copies each of both the opal (dd) gene and the argente (pp) gene. Features a warm, soft fawn or ginger-blue tone with banded hairs showing multiple colors along each shaft and off-white or cream belly
Blue Beige
bb dd pp
Beige with a blue tint and a gray undercoat. The eyes are red and the ears are gray. Combines Black Eyed Argente, Opal, and Argente. When these specific recessive traits combine, they dilute and modify each other to create the unique Blue Beige phenotype. Requires two sets each of 3 recessive genes (bbddpp)
Self Colors
Self colors are one color from base to tip, with common white faults on the moustache, chin, paws, and sometimes a white zipper. Belly is the same color as the back, not cream white, and no side scalloping.
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| a "Silvering" Blue Campbell's hamster |
Black
aa
Solid black, and some have white wings or collars. The eyes are black and the ears are dark gray. Most Blacks "silver" with age, possibly from a separate gene linked to Black.
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| Black top, Blue bottom |
Blue
aa dd
Steel blue-gray. The eyes are black and the ears are gray. Requires two copies each of recessive Opal and Black genes.
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| The same hamster as above, now Silvered with age |
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| With her Blue pups |
Chocolate
aa bb
A rich, dark solid brown self-color (meaning the entire coat is one uniform color without agouti ticking or banding). The eyes are black and the ears are gray. Created by combining the recessive black (aa) and black-eyed argente (bb) genes. All chocolates will silver with age.
Dove
aa pp
Dark dove gray-brown. The eyes are red and the ears are pink. Chocolate brown/taupe with red eyes. A combination of black and argente genes.
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| "Dove is darker, Lilac is lighter" |
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| top right: blue, top left: dove, bottom right: black, bottom left: red eyed lilac |
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| Red Eyed Lilac, Dove, and Blue |
Black Eyed Lilac (BEL)
aa bb dd
Soft lilac-gray. The eyes are black and the ears are gray. Combination of three recessive genes: opal, black eyed argente, and black genes.
Dark Beige
aa bb pp
Dark beige all the way to the roots. The eyes are red and the ears are pink. Combination of three recessive genes -
aa (Black): A self-coloring gene that removes the traditional agouti markings (like the lighter side arches), making the coat a uniform solid color.
bb (Black Eyed Argente / "BEA"): Modifies dark pigment to a dull brownish-ginger or rust tone.
pp (Argente): A pink-eyed dilute gene that bleaches out dark pigments, shifting them toward yellow/orange and turning the eyes red/pink.
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| typical "self color" belly: same color all over |
Red Eyed Lilac (REL)
aa dd pp
Soft lilac-gray. The eyes are red and the ears are pink. An easy way to remember the difference from Dove: Dove is Darker, Lilac is Lighter. triple-recessive mutation -
aa (Black): Eliminates the wild agouti pattern (ticking, side scallops, and light belly), resulting in a solid, self-colored base coat.
dd (Opal): A dilution gene that softens dark pigments into a blue-gray tone.
pp (Argente / Pink-Eyed): Dilutes black pigment into red/pink and strips black pigment from the eyes, giving them a bright red or ruby coloration.
aa (Black): Eliminates the wild agouti banding pattern, creating a solid ("self") base color.
bb (Black-Eyed Argente / Rust): Alters the eumelanin pigment from black to chocolate brown.
dd (Opal / Dilute): Acts as a color diluter, turning dark pigments into soft blue/grey shades.
pp (Argente / Cinnamon): Removes dark pigments, introducing striking red or pink eyes and shifting the fur to orange or ginger tones.
Black Eyed White (BEW)
didi P- Si-
Platinum combined with the dilute gene, which washes out all fur color. The dilute gene also makes homozygous Platinum (SiSi) survivable.
didi (Dilute): A homozygous recessive gene combination. The dilute gene washes out or lightens the base coat colors of the hamster.
P- (Argente / Pink-Eyed Dilute): The capital "P" indicates a dominant trait, meaning the hamster has at least one dominant gene at this locus. This ensures the hamster retains black eyes rather than pink or red eyes (which a recessive pp combination would cause).
Si- (Platinum): A dominant coat pattern. The Platinum gene is a pattern modifier that gradually fades the hamster's coat over time, often turning a lighter or silver color, and can contribute to a completely white appearance when combined with other lightening genes.
Red Eyed White (REW)
didi pp Si-
The same as a BEW but with Argente (pp), giving red eyes. It can't be told apart from an Albino without test breeding or knowing the parents' genes.
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 "sooty" 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 color
Satin is a very rare coat type! - https://hamsterdb.weebly.com/campbellself.html
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