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The Yellow mutation in the Syrian Hamster occurred in 1962 but it is unclear in which country it first emerged. The coat is yellow over the back and sides and can range from pale cream to a deep bright orange-yellow. The colour is usually paler at the roots. The tips of the hair are black although pale Yellows may lack the black tips and look almost cream in colour. The fur on the belly is ivory in colour and the yellow colouring of the back extends in a line across the chest. Along the side of each cheek there is a indistinct black "cheekflash" which extends from under the chin up towards the ears and the ivory belly colour extends upwards below the cheekflash. The eyes are black and the ears are dark grey. Young Yellow hamsters are often pale cream in colour but as the hamster matures the colour becomes richer and the dark tips become more evident.

Some Yellow hamsters can be so pale that they resemble a cream and never develop the yellower colouring or the black ticking.

The Yellow can be combined with any coat type, and pattern to produce varieties such as Long Haired Yellow, Yellow Banded, Yellow Dominant Spot Satin, etc.

For the show bench, the Yellow hamster should not be too orange in colour, not too heavily ticked nor should it resemble a cream being pale in colour and lacking ticking. It should be a yellow with an even amount of black ticking.

Agouti Colour Mutations  »