Can anyone help me with color

[Thames Valley Rodents]

chances of one coming up in a pet shop are very rare

coming accross an intentionally bred copper in a shop is slim but dont forget that many pet shop hamsters are highly inbred so that makes the chance or seeing recessives statistically more likely so really, its not that suprising. I have seen numerous photos of Butterbean and i have no doubts at all that she is a copper.
Rust (one of the consituent colours of a copper) is rare as has been stated but I have bred several by chance and took in two rust rescues last year so they are about.
I have heard people suggesting that she is a sable, a cinnmamon and even a cream...

She is a copper.

Kat x

[babyboos]

Sorry guys I would say she is a Cream they do come this dark and very pretty they are too. Red eyed creams are lighter than Black eyed, which can be a beautiful rich colour almost Cinnamon, and there is certainly some other recessives in there which will affect her coat and ears to some extent. I have seen Black eyed creams with one Cinnamon come up this lovely deep shade, they make great starting blocks for Sable and Mink lines.
As one of the only breeders I know anymore of Copper hamsters I would hope I can speak with some authority
And yes sure looks longhaired too - females are not as long as males, due to the lower levels of testosterone.
It is amazing how hard it is to breed Copper even with the right parents, and even Copper to Copper mating. It isn't just rarity of the colours involved (as many have pointed out Rust) but actually getting these genes to combine in a robust fashion and produce viable offspring.
Bottom line she is a lovely hamster and you have no way of saying what her actual gene combination is, even breeding her (which I strongly discourage, especially given that her background is unknown) you wont find out what colour she is unless you do a bit of inbreeding with a pure Golden or other pure single gene coloured male.
Getting hold of one of these is very hard indeed, especially if you are not part of a good hamster club.
Sadly nobody can say she is definitely Copper sorry, and if it makes you appreciate her more as a pet then you could call her anything you want.

[SnuggleHam]

Originally Posted by babyboos

Bottom line she is a lovely hamster and you have no way of saying what her actual gene combination is.

I have to agree with Babyoos, I think the only way we can officially say what color your ham really is, is to know the genes of the parents. Otherwise we can only speculate.

[Butterbean]

I'm going to have to stick with Kat, she knows her hammies... I don't know the genetics, so I can only go with what I see and know...

Yes she is a cutie lol, waiting for her to wake up so she can have her ball run.

She isn't a cream... and the cinnamon she doesn't have the flash cheeks.

But we can only go with what we know- and since I know what she looks like lol and from all the research and what other breeders have told me I am still sticking with Copper, as everything that she has and doesn't have marking wise is identical....

She is a wonderful loving hamster, if I knew where she was then I'd follow up on it... But From what people have seen of her... that's what I am sticking with, since I haven't found anything to tell me different. Gotta go with the information I know. I wish I was the one that purchased her at a young age, then I'd likely know- I doubt she came from a breeder as in Ontario they are like I mentioned - impossible to find....

But she is lovely, trustworthy, and very very lucky to be alive. So really that's just how I see her. It's hard for anyone else to say from pictures what I see everyday and nite and can get an up close look on what she looks like, markings, fur etc.... so right now they all point in that direction.....

Your right it is hard to say really truthfully, because we don't know who her parents are... but that is what she is, rare, yes... but perhaps I've just been lucky that she came into my life. she'd be snake food otherwise.

[souffle]

A hamster looks different in different lights and under flash. You are in Canada, we are in the UK and as Babyboos said if you value her more if she is a copper then that is great. She is, like all hamsters a beautiful and unique individual which you treasure just as we all treasure our babies from the runty deformed ugly little one to the top winning best in show. It is unfair to ask for peoples opinions on a colour if you have already made your mind up. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and we, as breeders and as people who are showing hamsters in the UK currently have given you ours which you may consider as you wish.
At the end of the day no-one can say for sure as no-one knows her exact breeding. If she is genetically a copper she is an extremely rare chance genetic combination. You should not breed her as she is way too old anyway. Just enjoy her for her unique beauty.

[Butterbean]

You are right... I do value everyones opinon.


She is a unique, sweet girl, and without knowing what she was like as a young ham it's hard to tell if this is her 100% color, after researching more and checking her out closely this is the only thing I can come up with just from me looking at her and all the other colors.

If I have any more questions I will post them...
Thank you for those who gave me their opinons, I appreciate it.

[babyboos]

She is a lucky lady given her history and that makes her far more special in every sense no matter what colour she is. Even knowing what she looked like as a youngster would not help you, you would need to know her parents and grand parents and even great grandparents on both sides - I have even seen recessives carry from further back than this, so there could still be some potential uncertainty. We love hamster genetics and their way of sometimes ignoring laws of inheritance.

[Butterbean]

Exactly.... I just changed her bin, so she is running around.. lol I changed it around so right now she is sitting in her "green chair" and I just gave her a small piece of whole wheat bread as her treat.