Blue colored hamster?

[JessB]

Is this an actual color? Please follow the link below to view, thanks

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/428967933234517057/

[Hekomi]

Yes. That is black plus dilute. It's in the UK and Europe, and with a few breeders in North America but not many at all.

[JessB]

Is this black plus a dilute gene of some sort?

[JessB]

Originally Posted by Hekomi

Yes. That is black plus dilute. It's in the UK and Europe, and with a few breeders in North America but not many at all.

Thanks! Wasn't sure what I was looking at!! lovely color though..

[Hekomi]

It's a relatively new mutation.

[Nancy's Hamsters]

And that Dilute gene is NOT the same as the Extreme Dilute gene either. Blue hamsters are lovely though being aadd and not aac(e)c(e). Blue on a sable is amazing.

[Sam Zika]

Brookside Hamstery has been working with Dilute for some time and has posted examples of its effects when combined with other colors: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...58647607561723 I like the Blue, the Dilute Golden Umbrous, the Lavender, and the Dilute Caramel (as they call it; it could also be called Dilute Chocolate Sable or Lavender Sable).

Dilute has a fairly straightforward effect on the phenotype. It causes melanin to form in clumps, which reduces the amount of light it can absorb, making the normal colors appear lighter. Black is lightened to gray, and yellow is lightened to ivory. So when you combine Dilute with Black, instead of a totally black hamster, it is totally gray.

Dilute has been known in other animals like mice for a long time, but it was discovered only recently in Syrian hamsters. I think it is the same as the mutation that produces the "Opal" color in Campbell's dwarf hamsters.

Neither Dilute nor any of its combination colors have been standardized by any hamster organization yet, but some of them have been given unofficial names:
Black + Dilute = Blue
Black + Rust + Dilute = Lavender
Cream + Dilute = Opal (the same as Opal mice, but not Opal Campbells)

[SinNyx]

Yes, that's s blue hamster

I had one, but sadly he passed away a little while ago. Unfortunately he was poorly bred, more for the colour than health, so he always had problems.

[WinnieTheHam]

I'm also interested in this, where has the gene come from? it's not listed on the MHC. I'm guessing it's recessive, i'm pretty interested in focusing on dilute in my future breeding. It's lovely!

[Robodwarfs18]

What a stunning colour!!