changing colours?

[Ness]

is my WW meant to start turning white now? I know it's meant to happen but I thought that was in the winter. I also understand that it hasn't been the sunnist summer yet.

[pophammy]

WWs are very unpredictable in their colour changing patterns. Some don't change at all, whilst others will go paler/white in Summer, or at any time really! We find keeping them near a window to let light in helps stop them changing colour.

[Ness]

it doesn't matter really if they do change colour right? they just look a bit different?

[pophammy]

No it doesn't matter! They will just get paler, but if you show them they will lose marks for it. Ours do it all the time!

This is Pringle, my school's normal mottled WW, in Winter Coat:



This is the closest pic I can find to his normal colour (he is actually darker than that at the moment):

[Ness]

I won't worry about it then, thats good. . why do they lose marks, we I have a few ideas why, but they still seem to have lovely coats is kept well and all that.

[Bunsey]

i've never had one change on me. One came to me in winter coat (a rescue) and it was so weird watching him change to a sapphire! especially seen as i actually didn't know what colour he was going to be or whether he was in fact a mottled campbells!

[souffle]

I think it is because the judge cannot tell the true colour and thus judge it if the hammie is in winter coat. The cannot see the arches/stripe etc properly and the winter coat also has a different texture in that is is sort of woolier. Some hamsters go sort of half in then out again and some go in to winter coat in summer! Some are even born wintery!

[Bunsey]

i think if you had a WW in winter coat, you just wouldn't enter it. well, i wouldn't anyway. I also wouldn't buy one that was in winter coat, as i couldn't tell if it was any good! There were some winter coats on the sales table at Alcester i think it was and i was looking for a lady, but i couldn't tell if they were what i wanted because of the winter coat.