Ferrets come in a variety of colors, and ferret lovers care about ferret colors as much its personality. But what are the most common colors? And which ferret color is the rarest? Here’s everything you need to know!
Ferret colors and patterns are determined by the genetics of both parents. A ferret can inherit color genes from either its male parent or female parent. A ferret’s color affects the ferret’s personality and interaction with others, but how much is dependent on other factors such as socialization or environment.
Chocolate Ferrets
Chocolate ferrets are usually brown, but can also appear as a dark red. They were originally considered to be a variant of the black ferret color, but they’re now recognized as a separate breed altogether and come in both red-browns and darker chocolate tones.
Appearance: Chocolate ferrets have lighter patches of fur on their head and neck that resemble the lines in chocolate ice cream. Their skin is typically darker than other ferret colors.
Interesting Fact: Females tend to be more reddish-brown, while males are more dark brown.
Learning these pet ferrets can be a little tricky sometimes. The chocolate ferret is also known as chocolate brown.
Cinnamon Ferrets
Cinnamon ferrets are a light brown color that can also range from orange to dark red. Cinnamon ferrets have less pigment in the skin than other ferret colors, so they’re more prone to sunburns. The cinnamon ferret is well known for its shade of color.
Appearance: Cinnamon ferrets have patches of lighter fur around their neck and head, similar to the ferret colors chocolate or cinnamon toast crunch cereal. These ferrets have pink noses. Some of them even have a white head, which makes them look really adorable.
Interesting Fact: They’re named after the spice because they typically sport at least one stripe of dark fur down their back and sides that looks like a cinnamon roll.
Sable Ferrets
Sable ferrets range in color from light brown to dark black. Statistically, the sable ferret remains the most common type of ferret in the ferret world.
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Appearance: Sable ferrets have patches of lighter fur around their neck and head, similar to the ferret colors cinnamon or chocolate toast crunch cereal. They typically sport at least one strip of darker fur down their back that resembles sable hair on an artist’s brush.
Interesting Fact: Sable ferrets are typically called “sables” for short, but they can also be referred to as black ferret variants or dark ferrets.
Black Sable Ferrets
Black sable ferrets are just as dark brown or black as other ferret colors, but they have patches of lighter fur. Some of them might have some white markings on them just like a birthmark on someone’s body.
Appearance: Black sables will often sport a white stripe down their back and sides that resemble the look of a painter’s brush streaked with paint. They sometimes also have light-colored spots on their chest and neck, which can range from light brown to dark red.
Some of the black sable ferrets aren’t even completely black, they might only have one black foot.
Interesting Fact: Their ferret color is the result of a gene that causes pigmentation in both skin and hair follicles, making them darker than other ferrets.
Albino Ferrets
Albino ferrets are white with pink eyes and skin. Albino ferrets are often called “snow ferrets” for short, but they can also be referred to as white ferret variants or platinum ferrets. They’re so rare that less than one in every 100 000 ferrets is albino.
Appearance: The Albino ferret often has lighter-colored “eyebrows” that resemble the thick, dark lines found on a person’s forehead or the top of their cheekbones. They also have brighter red spots in their fur which can range from light brown to dark crimson.
This lack of pigment in their skin makes them an animal that could get very dirty.
Interesting Fact: These ferrets were once popular among the Middle Eastern royalty for their rarity. In fact, a sultan’s favorite ferret could have its earlobes slit to show how much it was loved.
Champagne Ferrets
Champagne ferrets are brownish-grey with a mixture of dark and light fur. Champagne ferrets can be most commonly found in pairs, which is because they’re a white-faced ferret color that’s bred with another ferret color to create its various shades and patterns, they are also known to have a lighter undercoat.
Appearance: These ferrets have patches that range from yellow to white on their back, sides, neck, and head for a color scheme similar to the bubbles in champagne or wine. They also come in shades of red and black if they’re mixed with other ferret colors.
Best Friends: These ferrets pair well with any other ferret color, but are best friends with ferrets that have white or yellow fur.
Interesting Fact: Champagne ferrets are a type of color morphism, which is when the colors in an animal’s coat vary because they come from different genes on their chromosomes.
Black Ferrets
Black ferrets are jet black in color. When looked properly black ferrets don’t really look that black, some of the locals called them black-footed ferret as well due to the color combination it wears.
Appearance: Black ferrets come with a white underbelly and sometimes have dark-colored spots on their neck, chest, or tail for an extra dash of flair. Their dark hair makes them pretty obvious for their name.
If you want to know what they look like up close, think about the cartoon character Pepe Le Pew, who’s always up to no good.
Interesting Fact: These ferrets are often associated with evil people and creatures like witches because of their color scheme. On the other hand, ferrets that are black with white patches have a more friendly aura.
Best Friends: These ferrets pair well with any other ferret color, but they’re best friends with ferrets in shades of dark brown and black, such as chocolate ferrets.
There may be various kinds of ferrets in the wild but the black ferret is very commonly found in the wild.
Also read: Ferret Spines
Ferret Patterns
There are different patterns in ferrets, each of them with a different scientific reason and theory for its color.
A ferret’s pattern depends on the ferrets’ genotype and is determined by factors such as genetics, location, diet quality, and health conditions. A ferret can have a variety of different patterns including brindle (dark stripes that occur over their entire body), dappled/speckled (mostly white but irregularly speckled), and pure white.
The ferrets’ patterns are not set in stone as they can change depending on how much melanin is distributed throughout the ferret’s body. Some ferrets will have dark skin that produces a black coat, while others may produce an orange or brown coat. Patterns do not always look uniform because of ferrets’ ability to change their patterns.
Blaze Pattern
This ferret pattern is the most common and can be easily recognized by its white or light gray underside with black, brown, or red accents. The ferrets with this pattern have a blaze of color on their forehead that runs down to the chest area and then continues along their back in an arch shape before tapering off at the tail.
It is often difficult to see the ferrets with this pattern from a distance, and more distinct ferret patterns will be seen on closer inspection.
A ferrets’ blaze pattern can change depending on how much melanin is distributed throughout its body. The color of the ferret’s fur can also be affected by geographical location as well as diet quality and health conditions.
And it is statistically found that the blaze pattern ferret mostly turns out to be deaf ferrets. Check out how big ferrets get
Roan Pattern
This ferret pattern is characterized by the ferrets having a white or cream base coat with shades of brown, black, and red mixed in. The ferrets with this pattern have less contrast than those ferrets that have blaze patterns as it can be difficult to distinguish their markings from one another.
The roan coloration comes about when there are two different ferret colors in the ferrets’ genotype. This ferret pattern can be seen on both wild and domesticated ferrets, but roan patterns are more common in ferrets that have been bred to produce them as a show-quality trait.
Point Pattern
Point ferrets are the ferret pattern that most closely resembles wild ferrets. The ferrets with this pattern have a white or cream base coat and spots of black, brown, red, and yellow mixed in. Ferrets such as the Dalmatian ferret is a good example.
Some ferrets will only have one spot on their body while others may have many different colors that mix to form an interesting design.
Point ferrets are either the result of extreme inbreeding or a breeding process that is trying to recreate ferret markings from before domestication. Point ferrets are not common among most ferret populations, and they can be difficult for new owners to spot as ferret patterns become more distinct with time spent living out-of-the-wild
Panda Pattern
Ferrets that have panda ferret patterns are characterized by having black, brown, and white ferret colors mixed. The ferrets with this pattern will not show any color on their stomachs or chests as they are coated in white fur from head to tail.
Panda ferrets often have a distinctive dark mask across the bridge of their noses and their ferret’s eye color will often be black.
Panda ferrets are the result of extreme inbreeding, which can cause ferrets to have a variety of different health conditions including deafness and blindness. Ferrets with this pattern should only be bred by experienced ferret breeders as it is difficult to control which genes they pass
Mutt Pattern
Mutt ferrets are a ferret pattern that is difficult to identify. The ferrets with this pattern will have white, brown, and black ferret colors mixed in unpredictable patterns across their bodies.
Mutt ferrets may also be identified by having many different shades of color on the same area which can make it hard for them to camouflage themselves
Mutt ferrets are not breed-able and they should only be sold to ferret enthusiasts who will enjoy their random ferret pattern. They can also make a good pet for children because the ferrets with this pattern are often very tame
Striped Pattern
Ferrets with striped ferret patterns have a base coat of dark brown or black color and they will have stripes that are made up of white, red-brown, cinnamon, or golden ferret colors. The ferrets with this pattern can also be identified by having large patches of their darker ferret colors on the areas around their mouths as well
Standard Pattern
Ferrets with standard ferret patterns are the most common ferret pattern. These ferrets typically have a white base coat and black fur that covers their faces, feet, and tails. The ferrets can also be identified by having small patches of brown or red-brown on their heads as well
A standard ferret is one that has not been bred to have any ferret pattern, but they are a more common ferret coloration than other ferrets.
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