Types of Syrian Hamsters


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Types of Syrian Hamster

Syrian hamster, Sooty, relaxing on chaise lounge

Syrian hamsters are the most popular rodent to be kept as pets and have been since the 1970's. Over the years they have been selectively bred or spontaneously mutated to produce variations in a whole range of characteristics. These include variations in coat colours, patterns and the type and length of their hair. Now there are a whole variety of different types and breeds of Syrian hamster from which to choose. These are outlined briefly below.

Syrian hamsters with colour markings

Golden
The original Syrian hamsters were a golden brown colour with black ticking, the belly and inner surfaces of the legs are ivory with dark eyes and ears. A dark brown flash on the cheek marks the border between the golden brown and ivory areas of the coat.

Yellow
Yellow hamsters have a deep yellow coat with some black ticking and black cheek flashes. The underside is cream and the ears are dark grey and the eyes are black.

Smoke Pearl
The smoke pearl hamster’s coat is a creamy grey with black ticking all over and an ivory under surface, black cheek flashes, black eyes and grey ears.

Cinnamon
Cinnamon hamsters have a ginger coat with slight brown ticking and a pale blue under colour and an ivory belly. It has brown cheek flashes, flesh coloured ears and pink eyes.

Lilac
Lilac hamsters have a light grey coat with lilac ticking, a pale grey under colour and an ivory belly. It has grey check flashes, flesh coloured ears and pink eyes.

Rust
The rust or Guinea gold hamster has a ginger coat, with light brown ticking, rust brown cheek flashes, dark brown eyes and grey ears.

Self coloured Syrian hamsters

Albino
Albino hamsters are white with pink eyes and flesh coloured ears.

Silver grey
Silver grey hamsters have a silvery-grey coat with a grey undercoat.

Black
Black hamsters ideally should be completely black with no other colours. More commonly though most do have some other colours, usually white particularly on their underside and feet. The ears are usually lighter and the eyes should be black.

Chocolate
Chocolate hamsters have a dark brown coat with brown ears and black eyes.

Champagne
Champagne hamsters have a light grey coat tinged with lilac and they always have pink eyes.

Syrians hamsters with patterns

The main types of patterned coated Syrian hamsters are banded, spotted and tortoiseshell. These are broad types and are constantly evolving due to ongoing mutations and cross-breeding of existing hamster types.

Banded
Banded Syrian hamsters, as the name suggests, have a white band usually around the middle of the back. In shows preference is given to those that have well defined bands with clear edges and where the band divides the hamsters body into equal thirds. The main coat can be any other colour including tortoiseshell, banded hamsters only occur where at least one of the parents are banded.

Spotted
Spotted hamsters occur in a whole range of colour combinations from coloured hamsters with occasional white spots to white hamsters with other coloured spots. For show purposes preference is given to a larger number of spots evenly distributed over the hamster’s body. Spotted hamsters can have differently coloured eyes.

Tortoiseshell
Tortoiseshell hamsters always have two different colours flecked throughout the body and judges favour a higher number of spots and more clearly defined edges. One of the two colours is always a shade of yellow and the other is black or brown. There can also be some white to give a tri-coloured coat.

Different hair type Syrian hamsters

As well as different colours and different patterns Syrian hamsters can also be classified according to the actual hair type. The original Syrian hamster was short-haired and the others have been created by breeding selectively from these. The different hair types of Syrian hamster are outlined briefly below.

Long Haired Syrian Hamsters
Long haired Syrian hamster, Custard (Becci's) Long haired Syrian hamsters emerged in the USA in the early seventies, the gene for long hair is recessive which means that two short haired hamsters can never produce a long haired hamster. Long haired hamsters have particularly soft hair which is usually of up to just over an inch long, although exceptionally it can be much longer and the males typically have longer hair than the females.

In most long haired Syrian hamsters the long hair only occurs in patches, mostly around the rear end. Long haired Syrian hamsters have been bred in a whole range of colours and patterns but for show purposes self coloured versions tend to do better as the longer hair makes the edges of patterns less distinct and therefore usually less appealing. Having a long haired hamster brings increased care requirements as they will need regular grooming to avoid tangling and it has implications for bedding materials as wood particles can become trapped in the hair.

Satin Coated Syrian Hamsters
Satin coated Syrian hamsters first appeared in the late 1960’s and quickly Syrian hamster, Riley became very popular. The gene for the satin coat is dominant which means that when a satin coated hamster is crossed with a short haired hamster the offspring will usually have satin coats.

The satin coat should be thick and very smooth in texture and satin coated hamsters exist in a full range of colours and patterns. The satin texture though gives a particularly appealing sheen to the colour making it stand out from a similarly coloured hamster with a normal coat.

Rex Coated Syrian Hamsters
Rex coated Syrian hamsters first appeared in the early seventies and their characteristic is of a short, woolly and slightly wavy coat which is also fairly thick. Again rex coated hamsters can be found in a whole range of colours and they can be cross bred with hamsters of other coat types to give coats with intermediate characteristics.

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