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I.H.A. COLOR GUIDE |
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http://www.hedgehogclub.com/
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THE DOMINANT WHITE-BELLIED HEDGEHOG COLORS |
SALT & PEPPER
 |
The spines are white, banded with black.
No more than 5% of the quills are to be solid
white.
The face is white with a black mask, ears and
nose.
The underbody hair is white.
Black mottling of the underbelly is extensive.
Skin on the shoulders is jet-black.
The nose is black. |
DARK GREY
 |
Spines are white, banded by black with very
narrow rusty-brown outer edges.
All other features are the same as Salt &
Pepper except that the skin on the shoulders is dark grey, almost
black.
The nose is black. |
GREY
 |
Spines are white, banded by black with
rusty-brown outer edges.
There is some mottling of the underbelly and
the face is masked by black.
The skin over the shoulders is grey.
The nose is black. |
CHOCOLATE
 |
Spines are white, banded by dark brown.
The face is masked by light brown, there may be
pale mottling of the underbelly and the skin on the shoulder is light
grey.
The nose is dark liver, almost black. |
BROWN
 |
Spines are white, banded by light
oak-brown.
No more than 5% of the spines are to be solid
white.
A light mask is acceptable.
The eyes have a light blue ring around the
outer edges (the sclera).
Mottling of the skin is not preferred and the
skin on the shoulders is pink with a small amount of grey pigmentation.
The nose is liver, mottled with black. |
CINNAMON
 |
Spines are white, banded by light cinnamon
brown.
No more than 5% of the spines are to be solid
white.
The face is not masked.
The underbelly is white and mottling of the
skin is not preferred.
Skin on the shoulders is pink.
The nose is liver. |
| DARK
CINNICOT |
Spines are white, with 75% of the spines
banded by cinnamon and 25% by pale orange-beige.
The skin over the shoulders is pink.
The face is not masked.
The nose is liver with a pink outer rim. |
BLACK-EYED CINNICOT
 |
Spines are white, with 50% banded by
cinnamon and the remainder by pale orange-beige.
The skin over the shoulders is pink.
the face is not masked.
The nose is pink and liver mottled.
The eyes are black. |
| RUBY-EYED CINNICOT |
Spines are white, with 50% banded by
cinnamon and the remainder by pale orange-beige.
The skin over the shoulders is pink
The face is not masked and the nose is pink and
liver mottled.
The eyes are dark ruby-red |
| CHAMPAGNE |
Spines are white, with 75% banded by pale
orange-beige, with the remainder banded by cinnamon.
The skin over the shoulders is pink
The face is not masked.
The nose is pink with a liver outer rim.
The eyes are ruby-red. |
APRICOT
 |
Spines are white, banded by pale
orange-beige
The underbody is white
The face is not masked
The eyes are ruby-red
The nose is pink |
PALE APRICOT
(Secondary recessive of Apricot)
 |
Spines are white, banded by extremely pale
orange-yellow
The underbody is white
The face is not masked
The eyes are ruby-red
The nose is pink |
| SNOWFLAKE COLORS |
The Snowflake category comprises those
animals that possess a fairly even mix of banded and non-banded spines.
This gives the hedgehog the appearance of having a light "snowflake''
dusting over its back.
This is a recessive variation of the dominant
colors. |
SILVER
(the recessive of Salt & Pepper) |
Like the Salt & Pepper, the spines are
white, banded by black. However, the banding is much farther towards the
base of the spine, making the animal appear white when the spines are
relaxed.
All other features are the same as Salt &
Pepper.
Skin on the shoulders is jet-black.
The nose is black. |
SILVER CHARCOAL
(the recessive of Dark Grey
or the double recessive of Grey)
 |
Like the Charcoal, except that the colored
spines are white, banded by light grey.
All other features are the same as Charcoal.
Skin on the shoulders is dark grey, almost
black.
The nose is black. |
CHARCOAL
(the recessive of Grey) |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by black with rusty-brown edges.
There is some mottling of the underbelly and
the face is masked by black.
he skin over the shoulders is grey.
The nose is black. |
CHOCOLATE CHIP
(the recessive of Chocolate) |
All other features are the same as
Chocolate.
The nose is dark liver, almost black. |
BROWN SNOWFLAKE
(the recessive of Brown or the
double recessive of Chocolate Chip)
 |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by light oak-brown.
Some spines may also be banded by chocolate,
but this is not preferred.
A light mask is acceptable.
The eyes have a light blue ring around the
outer edges (the sclera).
Mottling of the skin is not preferred and the
skin over the shoulders is pink with a small amount of grey
pigmentation.
The nose is liver, mottled with black. |
CINNAMON) SNOWFLAKE
(the recessive of Cinnamon) |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white (50% is considered ideal). The remainder are white, banded by
light brown.
The face is not masked.
The underbelly is solid white with no
mottling.
Skin over the shoulders is pink.
The nose is liver colored. |
SILVER-CINNAMON SNOWFLAKE
(the double recessive of Cinnamon) |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by light gray.
All other features are the same as Cinnamon
Snowflake. |
DARK CINNICOT SNOWFLAKE
(the recessive of Dark Cinnicot or
the double recessive of Black-Eyed Cinnicot) |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, with 75% of the spines banded by
cinnamon and 25% by pale orange-beige.
The skin over the shoulders is pink
The face is not masked.
The nose is liver with a pink outer rim. |
BLACK-EYED CINNICOT SNOWFLAKE
(the recessive of Black-Eyed Cinnicot) |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, with 50% banded by cinnamon and the
remainder by pale orange-beige.
The skin over the shoulders is pink
The face is not masked.
The nose is pink and liver mottled.
The eyes are black. |
RUBY-EYED CINNICOT SNOWFLAKE
(the recessive of Ruby-Eyed Cinnicot) |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, Spines are white, with 50% banded by
cinnamon and the remainder by pale orange-beige.
The skin over the shoulders is pink
The face is not masked .
The nose is pink and liver mottled.
The eyes are dark ruby-red. |
CHAMPAGNE SNOWFLAKE
(the recessive of Champagne or
double recessive of Ruby-Eyed Cinnicot) |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, with 75% banded by pale orange-beige,
with the remainder banded by cinnamon.
The skin over the shoulders is pink
The face is not masked.
The nose is pink with a liver outer rim.
The eyes are ruby-red. |
APRICOT SNOWFLAKE
(the recessive of Apricot) |
Between 30 and 70% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by pale orange-beige.
The underbody is white
The face has no mask.
The eyes are ruby-red.
The nose is pink. |
PALE APRICOT SNOWFLAKE
(the double recessive of Apricot)
 |
Between 30 and 70% of the
spines are solid white. The remainder are white, banded by extremely
pale orange-beige.
The underbody is white
The face has no mask.
The eyes are ruby-red.
The nose is pink. |
| WHITE COLORS |
The White category comprises those
animals that possess almost 100% solid white spines.
The few banded spines that these hedgehogs have
are localized to the forehead area, with a few possible across the
remainder of the back. These few banded spines on the back, however,
should count no more than 10. Any more than this and it is categorized
as a Snowflake.
White is a dilute (prime) of the recessive
snowflake. Although not all are listed here, there is a total of 15
White possibilities in the White-Bellied color spectrum. |
PLATINUM
(the dilute of Salt & Pepper)
 |
Between 95 and 97% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by light grey.
Ears are black and the face is masked by
black.
Skin over the shoulders is jet-black.
Mottling of the underbelly is extensive.
The nose is black. |
SILVER CHARCOAL WHITE
(the dilute of Dark Grey) |
Between 95 and 97% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by light grey.
Ears are black and the face is masked by
black.
Skin over the shoulders is dark grey, almost
black.
Mottling of the underbelly is extensive.
The nose is black. |
CHARCOAL WHITE
(the dilute of Grey) |
Between 95 and 97% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by black with rusty-brown edges.
There is some mottling of the underbelly and
the face is masked by black.
The skin over the shoulders is grey.
The nose is black. |
CHOCOLATE WHITE
(the dilute of Chocolate) |
Between 95 and 97% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by chocolate-brown.
The skin over the shoulders is light grey.
The face is masked by light brown.
Pale mottling of the underbelly may be seen.
The nose is dark liver, almost black. |
BROWN WHITE
(the dilute of Brown)
 |
Between 95 and 97% of the spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by light oak-brown.
Some spines may also be banded by chocolate,
but this is not preferred.
A light mask is acceptable.
The eyes have a light blue ring around the
outer edges (the sclera).
Mottling of the skin is not preferred and the
skin over the shoulders is pink with a small amount of grey
pigmentation.
The nose is liver, mottled with black. |
WHITE
(the dilute of Cinnamon) |
Between 95 to 97% ofthe spines are solid
white. The remainder are white, banded by pale cinnamon-brown.
The face has no mask.
The underbelly is white with no mottling.
The ears are pale grey (silver).
Skin on the shoulders is pink.
The nose is liver |
ALBINO
 |
Albinos are unique due to the total
lack of pigmentation.
The spines are all white with no banding
The face and fur are white
The skin is pink and the eyes are red
The nose is pink |
PINTO
 |
Pinto is a color pattern, rather
than a color and as such may appear on any colored hedgehog. The Pinto
pattern can be distinguished by a total lack of color on the quills and
skin beneath in distinct patches or spots over the hedgehog's back.
Ideally, the white patches are to be symmetrical between one side of the
hedgehog, divided down the length of the body by the dorsal, and the
other. The remainder of the quills - those with colored banding - remain
consistent with the hedgehog's basic coloration. |
ALGERIAN COLORS
 |
Although the term "Algerian'' is
commonly used to refer to a species of hedgehog, the IHC also
recognizes it as a separate color category from that of the
White-Bellied colors. A hedgehog exhibiting the color traits of an
Algerian may or may not exhibit the physical traits. (larger body,
longer nose and larger ears) Since the two species have been interbred
to produce the domestic hedgehog, the only true trait of the Algerian
species left is the color as this does not mix with the colors of the
White-Bellied species.
Algerian colored hedgehogs can be easily
distinguished by looking at the "eye" or "cheek" patches as shown on the
left. If the hedgehog has cheek patches, then the hedgehog in question
is in the Algerian color range. If it does not, then the hedgehog is in
the White-Bellied range. This is a far more accurate means of
identification than the older method of looking for "cream" or
off-white colored quills, rather than the white quills of the
White-Bellied species. |
| ALGERIAN BLACK |
Spines are cream, widely banded by black
with dark rust at the top and bottom.
The skin on the shoulders is jet-black
There is a distinctive black mask that extends
almost to the neck.
The nose is black. |
| ALGERIAN DARK GREY |
Spines are cream, banded by black with rust
edges. The banding extends almost to the tip of the spines. The skin
is almost jet black.
The overall appearance is that of rust-colored
spines.
All other features are the same as BLACK
ALGERIAN. |
ALGERIAN GREY
 |
Spines are cream, banded by black with rust
edges. The skin is heavily mottled. The overall appearance is that of
rust and cream colored spines. The nose is black, the face has a dark
mask and the cheek patches are a deep, golden-brown. |
ALGERIAN CHOCOLATE
 |
Spines are cream, banded by
chocolate-brown. The skin is near-black, the mask is medium brown and
the eye patches are brown to rich golden-brown. Mottling of the
underbelly is extensive. The nose is dark, chocolate brown. |
ALGERIAN BROWN
 |
Spines are cream, banded by light brown.
The skin is dark gray, the mask is medium brown with light golden brown
cheek patches. There is light mottling of the underbelly. The nose is
chocolate brown. |
ALGERIAN CINNAMON
 |
Quills are cream, banded by rich
cinnamon-orange. The skin is gray, the mask is pale with light brown
cheek patches and the nose is chocolate brown with liver highlights.
There is light mottling of the underbelly |
ALGERIAN DARK CINNICOT
 |
Quills are cream, banded by dark
cinnamon-orange spines as well as a small number of dark apricot banded
spines. The skin is gray, the mask is pale with light brown cheek
patches and the nose is liver, mottled with chocolate brown. There is
no mottling of the underbelly |
ALGERIAN CINNICOT
 |
Quills are cream, banded equally by
cinnamon-orange spines and dark apricot banded spines. The skin is
gray, the mask is pale with light brown cheek patches and the nose is
liver, mottled lightly with chocolate brown. There is no mottling of
the underbelly |
ALGERIAN APRICOT
 |
Quills are cream, banded by pale orange.
The skin is pink with a very pale hint of gray. There is no mask but
there are very pale orange-brown cheek patches. The nose is pink with a
pale liver rim. There is no mottling of the underbelly. |
