| Syrain Hamster Mutations and Combinations |
| This table presents all existing mutations in hamsters in technically correct genetics terms. I find this format more useful as a quick reference and as a guide for breeding than other similar tables I have found on the web. I do not present a tutorial on basic genetics because there are several other good sites that do this, see links on Jessica's Hamster Page. Please email me with questions or comments. Preface notes: A hamster with no mutant phenotype is a wildtype: short hair solid golden color with black eyes. There may be variation in the shade of the coat, possibly affected by "recessive" alleles of some of the color genes. Accepted genetic symbols work as follows: Capital letters are dominant alleles and are effective if received from just one parent. Lowercase letters are recessive and must be inherited from both parents to be effective. A recessive gene may be carried; this means there is one dominant copy of the allele and one recessive copy. Dominant alleles cannot be carried, becuase if one copy is there, so is the trait. |
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| WILDTYPE |
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| MUTANT |
| MUTANT EFFECT |
| NOTES |
| Mosaic shows on cream-based hamsters but has random or unknown inheritance. |
| L short hair |
| l long hair |
| ll causes longer-than-normal, but variable length hair |
| genetically linked to banding |
| R |
| r rex hair |
| rr causes all hairs and whiskers to be wavy, kinked or rex |
| rare |
| H |
| h hairless |
| hh causes a completely naked hamster |
| poor lactation in hairless mothers |
| sa |
| Sa satin hair |
| Sasa causes an attractive, shiny, glossy hair coat. SaSa causes an unattractive super-shiny and sparse hair coat. |
| Incomplete dominance genetically linked to umbrous |
| Ru |
| ru ruby eye dilute |
| ruru causes ruby eyes and slight dilution of coat |
| rare, makes males sterile at 10 weeks |
| u |
| U umbrous |
| U_ causes darkening by a greyish wash over the entire coat, variable from light grey to nearly black. |
| genetically linked to satin |
| P |
| p pink eye dilute |
| pp causes eye dilution to pink and coat dilution to cinnamon |
| geneticlaly linked to acromelanic white |
| C |
| cd acromelanic white |
| cdcd causes white coat and red eyes with dark ears. Not a true albino, but on the same locus |
| also called dark eared white or Himalayan |
| cp extreme dilute |
| cpcp is a homozygous extreme dilute; a very diluted coat with black eyes |
| rare, more info, see river road hamstery |
| cp and cd are two different mutations on the same locus |
| cpcd is a heterozygous extreme dilute, a nearly white coat with black eyes |
| both genetically linked to pink eye dilute |
| to |
| To tortoiseshell; yellow |
| similar looking to cream but reacts differentely to other mutations and is sex linked, see more notes below. |
| wh solid pattern |
| Wh anopthalmic white |
| Whwh varies from full white through roan to nearly full color always with pure white belly and adds red glow to eyes. WhWh causes a completely white animal with no eyes. |
| Incomplete dominance aka eyeless white, or eyeless albino |
| D solid pattern |
| d dappled |
| dd causes mostly white splotchy pattern on the back with white belly. Similar effect to Dsds Ba_ combined. |
| rare |
| I solid pattern |
| i piebald pattern |
| ii causes blotchy white across the back and belly |
| very rare, possibly extinct |
| ba solid pattern |
| Ba banding |
| Ba_ causes a white band at the middle across the back with a white belly. White rarely extends to the head |
| genetically linked to long hair |
| ds solid pattern |
| Ds dominant spotting |
| Dsds causes dominant spotting with white on the back with a blaze on the nose and white belly |
| Dominant Lethal |
| Table of Mutations |
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| B |
| b rust |
| bb causes slight eye dilution and coat dilution to rust or brown |
| rare |
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| Dg |
| dg dark gray |
| dgdg causes dilution of orange and makes a gray agouti hamster |
| rare |
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| A agouti, non-black |
| a non-agouti black |
| aa causes a self black hamster |
| also callled melanistic black |
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| E normal agouti |
| e non-extention of eumelanin |
| ee causes a self cream hamster, no dilution of eye color |
| called Black Eyed Cream |
| sg |
| Sg silver gray |
| the mutation causes dilution of orange as above but also with some dilution of brown and black, so it is lighter. Sgsg is similar to Lglg, SgSg is much lighter and more "silver" |
| rare |
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| lg |
| Lg light gray |
| Lglg causes dilution of orange, brown and black and makes the coat gray agouti. |
| rare, dominant lethal |
| C O A T P A T T E R N S |
| C O A T T Y P E S |
| C O A T C O L O R M O D I F I E R S |
| Mutation Combinations |
| Patterns and Types All the Coat Pattern and Coat Type mutations may be combined with other Coat Type or Pattern mutations or with any of the Coat Color Modifier mutations with predictable results. The following are notable exceptions. |
| - Dominant Spotting (Dsds) when combined with non-extention of eumelanin (ee) or yellow (ToY/ToTo) sometimes causes a pure white coat and black eyes. Spotted creams/yellows do occur as well. - Anopthalmic white (Whwh) when combined with non-extenetion of eumelanin (ee) and umbrous (U_) causes vareiable roan patterning, ideally having an even 50-50 mixture of colored and white hairs. When combined with non-extention of eumelanin (ee), or yellow (ToTo/ToY), the coat is sometimes pure white, although cream/yellow roans sometimes occur. When combined with non-self or black-based-self colors, anopthalmic white causes white bellied or "Imperial" patterning, a variable patterning, usually a normal colored coat with pure white belly. - Dominant Spotting (Dsds) and Banding (Ba_) may be combined creating a mostly white coat with small patches of color on the head and rump. - Banding (Ba_) may be combined with anopthalmic white (Whwh) creating a similar effect as DsdsBa_ - Dominant Spotting (Dsds) may be combined with anopthalmic white (Whwh) creating a mostly white coat with some color on the head. |
| Colors Any Coat Color Modifer mutation may be combined with any of the other Coat Color Modifier mutations. Results are not always predictable. The following are notable combinations. |
| U_ = umbrous golden U_ bb = umbrous rust U_ ToY/ToTo = umbrous yellow U_ Toto = umbrous golden tortie/calico (females only) U_ dgdg/Sg_/Lglg = umbrous grey (indistinguishable or just slightly darker than normal grey) U_ pp = umbrous cinnamon U_ ee = sable U_ aa = sooty black U_ aa Toto = sooty black tortie U_ ee pp = caramel mink U_ ee pp bb dgdg = blue mink U_ ee Sgsg = silver sable U_ ee Lglg = platinum sable U_ ee pp Sg_ = silver mink U_ ee pp Lglg = plainum mink U_ ee bb = chocolate sable U_ ee bb pp = copper |
| Ruby-Eye based colors (ruru + other mutations) Ruby eye is a very rare mutation and it causes male sterility at about 10 weeks. I have not listed any specific colors that come from combining it with other mutations. |
| Umbrous based colors (U_ + other mutations) U_ causes darkening of the coat by increasing gray/black at the tips giving the coat a sooty cast. |
| pp = cinnamon pp bb = light rust pp ToTo/ToY = honey pp Toto = cinnamon tortie/calico (females only) (pp Ee Toto is more striking) pp Sg_/Lglg = red eyed blonde pp ee Sgsg/Lglg/dgdg = red eyed ivory pp dgdg = lilac U_ pp = umbrous cinnamon pp ee = red eyed cream pp aa = dove U_ ee pp = caramel mink U_ ee pp bb dgdg = blue mink U_ ee pp Sg_ = silver mink U_ ee pp Lglg = platinum mink U_ ee bb pp = copper pp cdcd = flesh eared white pp bb aa = champagne pp aa ToTo/ToY = honey-black pp aa Toto = dove tortie/calico (females only) pp aa bb Toto = champagne tortie/calico (females only) |
| Cinnamon based colors (pp + other mutations) pp causes dilution of black, brown and grey, and when not combined with other mutations, it leaves a bright orange coat color. Eyes are diluted to pink or ruby. |
| Acromelanic white based colors cdcd causes Himalayan effect: dark eared white with red eyes. This mutation is epistatic to all other mutations meaning that it causes the body to be white and eyes to be red no matter what other mutations it is combined with. The ears may be pink, spotted or black depending on what other mutations it is combined with. cdcd = dark eared white cdcd pp = flesh eared white |
| bb = rust pp bb = light rust bb Sg_/Lglg = black eyed blonde bb dgdg = beige U_ bb = umbrous rust bb ToTo/ToY = black eyed honey bb Toto = black eyed honey tortie/calico bb ee = pale eared cream bb aa = chocolate U_ ee bb = sable chocolate U_ ee bb pp dgdg = blue mink U_ ee bb pp = copper pp aa bb = champagne bb aa ToTo/ToY = black eyed honey-black bb aa Toto = chocolate tortie/calico (females only) pp aa bb Toto = champagne tortie/calico (females only) |
| Rust based colors (bb + other mutations) bb causes dilution of black, grey and yellow and when not combined with other mutations leaves the coat slightly lighter and more brown than normal. Ears are diluted slightly. |
| ee = black eyed cream ee pp = red eyed cream ee bb = pale eared cream ee Sgsg/Lglg/dgdg = black eyed ivory ee pp Sgsg/Lglg/dgdg = red eyed ivory ee SgSg = black eyed white U_ ee = sable U_ ee Sg_ = Silver sable U_ ee Lglg = platinum sable U_ ee pp Sg_ = silver mink U_ ee pp Lglg = platinum mink U_ ee pp bb dgdg = blue mink U_ ee bb = sable chocolate U_ ee bb pp = copper |
| Cream based colors (ee + other mutations) ee causes no black or grey to show in the hairs because the pigment is retained in the skin (non extention of eumelanin). The resulting color is self cream. All cream based colors are also self. ee is epistatic to aa and hamsters with both ee and aa look no different from those with just ee. It also tends to cover up yellow in the same way, although it does influence the yellow color when only carried. ToTo Ee looks more creamy and less orange than does ToTo EE. |
| aa = black pp aa = dove aa dgdg/Sg_/Lglg = charcoal U_ aa = sooty black aa ToTo/ToY = yellow black aa Toto = black tortie/calico (females only) bb aa = chocolate pp aa bb = champagne pp aa ToTo/ToY = honey black pp aa Toto = dove tortie/calico (females only) aa dgdg/Sg_/Lglg ToTo/ToY = charcoal pearl aa dgdg/Sg_/Lglg Toto = charcoal tortie/calico (females only) bb aa ToTo/ToY = black eyed honey-black bb aa Toto = chocolate tortie/calico (females only) pp aa bb Toto = champagne tortie/calico (females only) |
| Black based colors (aa + other mutations) aa causes the agouti bands on the hairs to be effectively removed by extending melanin over the entire hairshaft. Basically it is the opposite of the non-extention of eumelanin mutation (ee) but has the same effect of creating self colors. |
| ToTo/ToY EE = yellow (true agouti yellow) ToTo/ToY Ee = yellow (light and creamy) ToTo/ToY ee = cream (indistinguishable from ee toto) ToTo/ToY U_ = umbrous yellow ToTo/ToY pp = honey ToTo/ToY pp aa = honey black ToTo/ToY bb = black eyed honey ToTo/ToY bb aa = black eyed honey black ToTo/ToY aa = yellow black ToTo/ToY dgdg = smoke pearl ToTo/ToY Sg_/Lglg = gray pearl ToTo/ToY aa dgdg/Sg_/Lglg = charcoal pearl |
| Yellow based colors (To + other mutations) To_ creates a similar looking color to ee, but works in a different way (it is an agouti color) and also is sex linked. Since it is dominant and sex linked, it allows for tortoiseshells and calicos. Yellow is usually wiped out by cream and also, when a yellow hamster carries cream, the yellow is diluted and more creamy than when not carrying cream. |
| Toto = golden tortie/calico (females only) Toto U_ = umbrous golden tortie/calico (females only) Toto pp = cinnamon tortie/calico (females only), more striking as Toto pp Ee Toto aa = black tortie/calico (females only) Toto aa pp = dove tortie/calico (females only) Toto aa bb = chocolate tortie/calico (females only) Toto aa bb pp = champagne tortie/calico (females only) Toto dgdg = smoke pearl tortie/calico (females only) Toto Sg_/Lglg = gray tortie/calico (females only) Toto aa dgdg/Sg_/Lglg = charcoal tortie/calico (females only) |
| dgdg = dark gray dgdg ee = black eyed ivory dgdg ee pp = red eyed ivory dgdg pp = lilac dgdg ToTo/ToY = smoke pearl dgdg bb = beige dgdg ToTo/ToY pp = lilac pearl ee pp U_ bb dgdg = blue mink dgdg aa = charcoal dgdg Toto = smoke pearl tortie/calico (females only) dgdg Toto pp = lilac tortie/calico (females only) dgdg aa Toto = charcoal tortie/calico (females only) |
| Dark Gray based colors (dgdg + other mutations) Dark gray dilutes orange and leaves a gray agouti coat. It is tied to spinal deformities and dgdg hamsters are usually smaller and weaker than littermates. If a dgdg hamster has a kinked tail, it should not be bred from as this may indicate spinal deformities. |
| Sgsg = heterozygous silver gray (similar to light gray) SgSg = homozygous silver gray (very light and "silvery") Sgsg ee = black eyed ivory SgSg ee pp = red eyed ivory U_ ee Sg_ = silver sable U_ ee pp Sg_ = silver mink SgSg ee = off white Sg_ pp = blonde Sg_ ToTo/ToY = silver pearl Sg_ bb = black eyed blonde Sg_ aa = charcoal Sg_ Toto = silver pearl tortie/calico (females only) Sg_ aa Toto = charcoal tortie/calico (females only) Sg_ aa U_ = silver sable |
| Silver Gray based colors (Sg_ + other mutations) Silver gray dilutes orange and black and leaves a gray agouti coat. |
| Lglg = light gray Lglg ee = black eyed ivory Lglg ee pp = red eyed ivory Lglg ee U_ = platinum sable Lglg ee pp U_ = platinum mink Lglg pp = blonde Lglg ToTo/ToY = light gray pearl Lglg bb = black eyed blonde Lglg aa = charcoal Lglg Toto = light gray tortie/calico (females only) Lglg aa Toto = charcoal tortie/calico (females only) |
| Light Gray based colors (Lglg + other mutations) Light gray dilutes orange and black and leaves a gray agouti coat. |
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