R&R Hamsters News Blog

02 February, 2009

Genetics all over again

Hi,
recently there has been renewed interest in the Roborovski genetic coat pattern inheritance question. For many years now the Roborovski has established itself as a relatively common pet. When I look at the forums I frequent, many people keep Roborovskis now. In the Netherlands however, the breeding research on Roborovskis has come to a stand still and too many questions remain. People from around the world who are Roborovski breeders or, like me, just fascinated by this type of hamster, all say the same thing when it comes to genetic coding for the Roborovski:
There is no such thing, because we just do not know what a white face Roborovovski is. Is it a hamster with a mutation for color, is it a pattern? Is there a heterozygote WF and a homozygote? Are all of the WF variations (Normal, light/fading, pure white) just one pattern mutation with different phenotypes?

What we need is documentation. Careful breeders with good administration and a lot of them. It's just as boring as that :)
I'm sure together we can get somewhere and partly unveil the mystery of the elusive Roborovski. I can only promise you I keep on searching for answers and share them as they come to me.

I'm currently dusting of old e-mails, requesting status quos from the breeders I have in the past corresponded with and reactions are slowly coming in. Hopefully I have something new to share soon!