Comments – This female has a triangular shape with the hips widest, the
shoulders narrowing, and the head long and pointed. She lacks the breadth and
cobbiness/roundness required by the standard. Type is a significant weakness.
The band is actually too wide (and most are too narrow). It should only be
about one third of the body length. The back margin is very jagged, and there
are some spots within the band. Getting a good band is not easy. Her coat is
very smooth and short and looks very nice.
# 129
Black banded
short hair
Color/Markings – 23
Type – 20-
Fur – 9+
Size – 8+
Condition - 9
Eyes/ears - 4
Total – 73+
Place - 1
Comments – This hamster illustrates better than more the cobbiness/roundness in the body required by the standard. Her head is weaker than her body and is not as large as desired in proportion to her body. Her body could use more breadth too. Her black color is a definite strength with no noticeable browning. The band is a bit too narrow but the margins have reasonable parallelness with little spotting within the band. From the front facing photo, though, you can see that the black color encroaches on the belly fur which should be entirely white in a banded hamster. I like this hamster even though her score will not win. Color quality is far more likely to pass to her pups than band quality, and body structure is good although the head can be improved on. Paired with the right animal, she could be an asset to a breeding program – especially if she is still young and has some more growing and maturing to do.
# 132
Black banded
short hair
Color/Markings – 23
Type – 19
Fur - 9
Size – 9-
Condition - 9
Eyes/ears - 4
Total – 73-
Place - 2
Comments – This one has similarities to the last one with good black color
quality, but her body shape is a bit weaker. She has more of a triangular
shape – at least it appears that way in the photos. Her band is wider, but
there is more color within the band, and the margins are jagged. The front
facing photo shows she has some breadth to her body.
# 133
Sable banded
Short haired
Color/Markings – 19
Type – 19
Fur - 8
Size - 9
Condition - 9
Eyes/ears - 4
Total – 68
Place - 3
Comments – We have no true top view, and type is a bit harder to assess. The head needs to be shorter and blunter, but the body appears to have decent breadth. The color should be darker and blacker although fortunately she does not have the brownness that many sables have. The band is a definite weakness negatively affecting the color and marking score. The coat is not as short as it should be, and this may actually be a long haired female. Although her score is low, she could be an asset to a breeding program if paired with the right male. The breeder may choose to keep cream pups as their color quality may be stronger, avoid the banded gene, and work to shorten her head through a mate stronger in that area.
# 123
golden tort
short hair
Color/Markings –
Type –
Fur -
Size -
Condition -
Eyes/ears -
Total –
Place – Not scored due to probable pregnancy.
Comments – It appears this hamster is pregnant which makes it almost
impossible to correctly assess type and condition. I would like to see both
side views on this hamster. The crescents are not ivory, and the cheekflashes are pale. On a tortoiseshell and white, the banded pattern is not important. The standard requires a balanced pattern of color, yellow, and white. She has too much golden and is lacking in the other colors, especially white although she is better in her pattern than most. Her head is a bit long and not as blunt as the standard requires, and hopefully her male has those characteristics as strengths.
