 The 'original' colour of the Dwarf Campbells Russian Hamster in the wild is brownish-grey with an ivory belly and has a darker line down the centre of the back (dorsal stripe).
Occasionally a mutation occurs resulting in a new colour, pattern, coat type or physical characteristic. 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 colours to the original wild brownish-grey have been established.
Colours are divided into Agouti Colours and Self Colours.
Agouti Colours are colours which have the original wild markings, that is the coat is a darker colour at the roots (undercolour) than on the top, the belly is off-white, the back shows a dorsal stripe and there are three arches along the sides separating the belly colour and the top colour.
Self Colours are the same colour all over (top and belly) with no dorsal stripe - these usually have a white chin stripe and may also have a white spot or patch on the chest or belly.
 By combining the different colour mutations it is possible to breed a further variety of Agouti and Self colours.
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