The white areas found on Self-colored hamsters (both Syrians and Dwarves) are considered as part of the Colour and Markings category which accounts for 30 of the possible 100 show points. Self animals in many species have no white.  Ideally, Self hamsters would also have no white on them.  The reality, though, is that virtually all Self hamsters have some white.  Since the standard is written for the ideal, the standards are generally written for no white.   No mention of white on Self hamsters is made in the BHA Standards.  Judges do pay attention to this on the show bench.  Any white is considered a fault, but judges realize that it is very unusual to see a Self hamster with no white hairs and penalize accordingly.  In the National Hamster Council Standards, the only mention made of white is in the description of Black Syrians where it is stated that "white feet are permissible, and shall not be penalised. All other markings shall be penalised."   There are a few key places that a judge looks when evaluating possible white faults on a self hamster.  These include:   1.  Feet 2.  Belly 3.  Under the chin   1.  Feet:  Self hamsters generally receive little or no penalty if they have white feet.  Virtually all self hamsters do have white feet, but the white area should be minimal and should not extend up the leg.   2.  Belly:  The belly on a self hamster should have no white spots.  It is not uncommon to see a small white spot or two, though, especially if the breeder has not selected against this trait.  Sometimes there is a significant amount of white on the belly.  The size of the penalty is in direct proportion to the size and amount of white on the belly.   3.  Under the chin:  A narrow white chin stripe which does not extend down the neck typically receives a minor penalty if any penalty at all.  Some self hamsters, particularly the Campbell's near me, have significant white under the chin.  It extends both too wide and too long and is penalized in direct proportion to the size and amount of white.   Here are some pictures which illustrate these points in Syrians and Campbell's.  All of these issues/problems can appear in both species.       This young Syrian does not have any white on her belly, and she does not have a chin stripe.  The white on her feet is minimal.  This is what we aim for in the markings. This Syrian has a significant amount of white on his belly.  This could be caused by the white bellied gene but is not in this case (since we know the pedigree).  He would be penalized.     This little Campbell's has no white on her belly.  You can clearly see her white back feet, and this would generally not be penalized (or only be a minor penalty).  She has the belly markings which you strive for. This Campbell's has a significant amount of white on her belly.  She is not mottled (but is silvered on her back).  This white would receive a penalty by the judge.  She also has white creeping up the right leg.  This should be selected against.     You can see the narrow white chin stripe on this older dwarf hamster.  The stripe is too long and seems to widen as it moves down her chest.  This might receive a small penalty as a minor fault.   Some of our California Campbell's lines have white which creeps up the side of the nose.  Pet owners find it quite cute and often choose these animals.  If you are choosing your animals to best meet the standards, though, you would select against this trait.  There should not be any white on the upper lip. This little fellow displays a common fault in the self Campbell's in California.  Not only does he have some white creeping up the sides of his nose, his "chin stripe" is far too wide and long. This would be penalized and should be selected against.

Judge's Page by Linda Price Let's look at our top syrian and our top two dwarves, all of which have better than average undersides.  Let's start with our syrian, Tutter.  He's got a nice belly.  It appears that he has a small white belly spot and maybe a tad too much white directly under the chin.  Overall, these are minor.  He would be a good addition to a breeding program working toward the perfect underside. Next, let's look at Paws, a Black Campbells.  He doesn't have any white on his belly, and his back feet show the minimal white which most judges allow without penalty.  Nice belly! He does appear to have a bit too much white under the chin, however, and this might receive a penalty by the judge.     Finally, let's look at Boris.  We can see that he has some white under his chin.  It's hard to see exactly how wide the chin stripe is from this angle, but it doesn't appear to be too wide.  A judge's examination would determine whether he would receive a small penalty or not.   We also had a couple of links submitted this month.  One showed a good belly shot of a black syrian.  It's StellaLuna submitted by Lari.  Note that the white does not creep up her arms but remains at the paws.  Her chin stripe gets a bit long and wide, so you'd work to narrow and shorten it in her pups.  Her belly looks good! StellaLuna These are all nice entries!  Good job! Congratulations to Dray, Lari, and Jes!