What is a "Caramel" Syrian?

[Sam Zika]

The people who name hamsters colors must really have a sweet tooth. We've got Chocolate, Honey, Cream, Cinnamon, Champagne, and Caramel. So...what is Caramel?

The River Road Hamstery website (which is currently down but I found an archive) lists "Caramel" as a synonym for "Mink": eeppU_. But Hamster Club Germany has a picture of a "Caramel LH male (bb ee)." If you look at that picture, the hamster looks different from an ordinary Black-eyed Cream. There's definitely some ticking or something going on there.

I've never seen the name used anywhere else.. I've also never seen an alternative name for the color produced by the bbee genotype.

So what sort of hamster should properly be called "Caramel"?

[Lemon66|]

Where I'm from Caramel is used (commonly) to describe the colour combination of Cream and Rust (genotype: bbee). So in other words; a "Brown Eared Cream". You'll be able to tell a Caramel from a Cream by it's brown or dark red eyes and brown ears (a Cream - commonly referred to as Black Eyed Cream or BEC - has black eyes and dark grey ears).

I've never seen Caramel used to describe any other colour, and I find it interesting that a recognized site such as River Road uses it synonymously with Mink. I suspect the page hasn't been updated in quite some time

[souffle]

In the UK we do not have any colour ever referred to as Caramel. I think I may have heard it use in European forums. I would imagine it is an animal with a 'caramel' colour and the combination lemon talks about sounds like this.

[Sam Zika]

Originally Posted by Lemon66|

Where I'm from Caramel is used (commonly) to describe the colour combination of Cream and Rust (genotype: bbee).

Is that continental Europe? Do these "Caramels" have pretty much the same fur color as Black-eyed Creams? That might have been an optical illusion in the picture I referenced.

Originally Posted by Lemon66|

I find it interesting that a recognized site such as River Road uses it synonymously with Mink. I suspect the page hasn't been updated in quite some time

You're right; that site is old.

Originally Posted by souffle

In the UK we do not have any colour ever referred to as Caramel.

In the UK do you have a name for the bbee color? Or is it so similar to Black-eyed Cream, it just doesn't have a name?

[Lemon66|]

Originally Posted by Sam Zika

Is that continental Europe? Do these "Caramels" have pretty much the same fur color as Black-eyed Creams? That might have been an optical illusion in the picture I referenced.

That's right; Scandinavia

IMO the coat colour isn't all that different. Caramels tend to have a very slight brownish hue, while Creams are just a tad more apricot/orangey. Though neither Cream nor Caramel has any ticking. However, you'd need to compare two hamsters that are about the same age, as both colours will deepen with age. But I've seen a Cream and a Caramel baby from the same litter that were impossible to tell appart by coat colour, so this isn't a safe bet Also, there are a number of different shades in Cream alone due to selective breeding (and lack thereof) - so the colour quality of the parents has a big influence.

To be safe, consider the hamster's eye and ear colour to be the only sure way of telling the colours appart.

Edit: Actually, I just remembered that the Rust gene (or "Brown" gene - bb) doesn't affect the pheomelanin-pigment, it only has an impact on eumelanin. The Cream gene (or "Extension" gene - ee) prevents the extension of eumelanin, allowing only for the pheomelanin-pigment to be expressed in the hairs. Pheomelanin produces red/yellow colour, while eumelanin produces black/brown colour.

As an example; consider the distinct colour difference between Black (aa) and Chocolate (aabb), or a Sable (eeU_) and a Chocolate Sable (bbeeU_). This is the Rust gene at work - "bleaching" the black/brown pigment (eumelanin). But the Cream undercoat of the Sable remains the same (because it's produced by the pheomelanin pigment)!

In other words, the coat colour of a Cream and a Caramel would be identical