Light Gray Pearl Syrian Hamsters

Light Gray Pearl Female

These two pictures are of a Light Gray Pearl Satin male.

These three littermates are a Light Gray Pearl Black, Light Gray Pearl, and a Yellow Black.  The Light Gray Pearl Black youngster on the left has not yet gotten her full black tipping yet.  That will come in another month or so.  You can still see the distinct color difference between her and her Yellow Black brother on the right.  He, too, has not gotten his full black tipping, but he has far more orange in his coat.  The Light Gray Pearl male in the center will only get very light agouti markings.

The Light Gray Pearl is the combined color of Light Gray and Yellow.  The name "Light Gray Pearl" is not a standardized color name.  It seems to make sense since the combined color of Dark Gray and Yellow is Smoke Pearl.  I use the term "Light Gray Pearl" as a means to identify the color until a standardized color name is defined.  Both the Light Gray and the Yellow genes are dominant.  The Light Gray gene is lethal.  The Yellow gene is sex linked.  The color actually looks like a washed out yellow or cream.  There is some ticking on the back and at the cheekflashes..

I have had questions about how the Light Gray Pearl differs from the Smoke Pearl.  Since I have only briefly seen any Smoke Pearls, I will rely on Lorraine Hill's description. "The Light Grey Yellow combination is indeed a strange colour.  Basically because the Light Grey retains cream (unlike the other greys) the Light Grey Yellow combination is not at all like you would expect.  They tend to be a dull cream/yellow with very subtle ticking.  Here is why .... "If you think of Dark Grey, the roots are dark grey, the middle part of the hair mid grey and the tips are black.  Combining this with yellow removes the dark grey roots and replaces them with ivory, lightens the mid grey part and the black tipping from the Dark Grey and Yellow becomes more obvious - voila the Smoke Pearl! "With the Light Grey it has dark grey roots, the middle part of the hair is cream and the tips are grey/black.  In combination with the Yellow the effect is exactly the same as with the Dark Grey which means the dark grey roots are replaced with ivory, the cream in the middle remains and the tipping from the Light Grey and Yellow remains.  Voila the Light Grey Pearl - which looks like a dull yellow!"