Determining Color for each Hedgehog:
There are three categories that determine the color of each hedgehog:
Variety, Color, and Pattern...
Each hedgehog will exhibit a variety and a color, but may not have a pattern...
Hedgehogs that have a pattern, or more than one pattern, are priced higher...
Below are descriptions and price ranges for each of the categories....

Variety:

Algerian and White-belly varieties: The distinction between varieties is often confusing for the average buyer. Basically the difference comes down to whether or not the hedgehog has the tell-tale "tear drops" or "check patches" below the eyes that extend the mask further towards the quill line. The darker the color, the easier it is to tell the two varieties apart. As seen in the Dark Grey picture below this hedgehog is unmistakably an Algerian variety. In the Chocolate picture below, this hedgehog is a White-belly variety, although harder to tell because she has a lighter mask. In general, an Algerian hedgehog that has the same color quills as another hedgehog that is a White-belly will have a darker mask, nose, ears, and more mottling of the belly and legs than the later. Also, an Algerian's spine tips will be cream, whereas, the White-Belly's spine tips will be more white. For more information on the variety difference please see the links at the bottom of this page... Dreamflower Meadows generally prices an Algerian hedgehog about $25 higher than a White-belly hedgehog, especially in the case of the darker shades.  Most of the hedgehogs born in our herd are the Algerian Variety.

Colors:
These are the base colors of each hedgehog, taking into account the color of the mask, bands in each quill, nose, eyes, and the skin color on the shoulders. The colors are basically shades of colors that we list here from darkest to lightest...Remember that an Algerian's masks will be darker when compared to a White-belly's with the same color quills.
If you notice that a color is missing, in comparison to color lists given on other websites, it is because we do not list colors here that we have not been able to produce from our herd.

Color:	Color Description:	Price Range:	Average Wait Time:
Algerian Black	Spines: Cream at either end Banding: wide black fading briefly to dark rust Mask & Ears: Black Nose: Black Eyes: Black Shoulder Skin: Dark black Belly & Legs: Extensive mottling Note: Found only in the Algerian variety (Many breeders incorrectly label their dark grey babies this color, but they almost always fade to by 6 months of age to the dark grey color.)	$250 - $350	We do not keep a waiting list for this color since it is produced so rarely and they usually go to breeders we know.
Picture coming soon!   Salt & Pepper	Spines: White at either end Banding: Black fading very briefly to grey Mask & Ears: Black Nose: Black Eyes: Black Shoulder Skin: Dark black Belly & Legs: Extensive mottling Note: White-Belly version of the Algerian Black (Many breeders incorrectly label their standard or gray babies with this color name. It is actually a very rare color that is hard to produce.)	$250 - $350	We do not keep a waiting list for this color since it is produced so rarely and they usually go to breeders we know.
Dark Grey	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Black fading briefly to light rust Mask & Ears: Dark grey Nose: Black Eyes: Black Shoulder Skin: Almost black Belly & Legs: Extensive mottling	$200 - $275	1 - 2 month wait
Grey	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Narrow black fading to light rust Mask & Ears: Grey Nose: Black Eyes: Black Shoulder Skin: Grey Belly & Legs: Some mottling Note: Basically this is a faded version of the dark grey color in both varieties.	$200 - $250	1 - 2 month wait
Chocolate	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Chocolate or dark brown Mask & Ears: Medium to Light Brown Nose: Liver w/ possible pink blotches or outline Eyes: Black Shoulder Skin: Grey Belly & Legs: Some mottling	$175 - $225	1 - 2 month wait
Brown	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Light brown Mask & Ears: Medium to light brown Nose: Chocolate to liver w/ black blotches Eyes: Black w/ light blue outer rings Shoulder Skin: Grey to mostly pink in White-bellies Belly & Legs: Some mottling, less in White-bellies	$175 - $225	1 - 2 month wait
Cinnamon	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Rich to light cinnamon-orange Mask & Ears: Light brown, lighter in White-bellies Nose: Liver to pink in many adults Eyes: Black w/ a hint of ruby-red possible Shoulder Skin: Light grey to pink in White-bellies Belly & Legs: Little to no mottling	$200 - $250	1 - 2 month wait
Dark Cinnicot	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Mostly cinnamon w/ some being apricot Mask & Ears: Brown to pale brown Nose: Liver w/ brown mottling or w/ pink outer rim Eyes: Usually dark, but ruby-red possible Shoulder Skin: Light grey to pink in White-bellies Belly & Legs: No mottling usually	$200 - $250	1 - 2 month wait
Cinnicot	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Even amount of cinnamon and apricot Mask & Ears: Pale brown to no color at all Nose: Liver or pink w/ brown to light liver mottling Eyes: Usually dark, but can be ruby-red Shoulder Skin: Light grey to pink in White-bellies Belly & Legs: No mottling	$200 - $250	1 - 2 month wait
Champagne (hedgehog above is also a Pinto)	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Mostly orange with some cinnamon Mask & Ears: Pale cheek patches or none at all Nose: Liver or pink w/ brown to light liver mottling Eyes: Usually ruby-red, can be dark Shoulder Skin: Light grey to pink in White-bellies Belly & Legs: No mottling (We do not breed for this color often because most people prefer dark eyes.)	$200 - $250	3 - 4 month wait
Apricot	Spines: Cream or White depending on variety Banding: Pale orange or orange-beige Mask & Ears: Pale cheek patches or none at all Nose: Pink, may have pale liver outer rim Eyes: Usually ruby-red, rarely dark Shoulder Skin: Pink, hint of grey in Algerians Belly & Legs: No mottling (We do not breed for this color often because most people prefer dark eyes.)	$200 - $275	3 - 4 month wait
Pale Apricot	Spines: White Banding: Extremely Pale orange-yellow Mask & Ears: No color at all Nose: Pink Eyes: Ruby-red to Pink, dark is extremely rare Shoulder Skin: Pink Belly & Legs: No mottling (Note: Only seen in the White-Belly variety) (We do not breed for this color often because most people prefer dark eyes.)	$200 - $275	3 - 4 month wait
Albino	Spines: White Banding: None Mask & Ears: No color at all Nose: Pink Eyes: Pink Shoulder Skin: Pink Belly & Legs: No mottling (Note: This is actually not a color, but a total lack of pigment that normally produces color.) (We do not breed for this color often because most people prefer dark eyes.)	$175 - $200	2 - 6 month wait

Patterns:
A hedgehog of any color can exhibit a pattern...It is possible for a single hedgehog to exhibit more than one pattern as well, thus, increasing the price of that individual hedgehog.
Below are the some of the patterns that any color hedgehog may exhibit.
If you notice that a pattern is missing, in comparison to a pattern listed other websites, it is because we do not list patterns here that we have not been able to produce from our herd. Also, we do add the pattern distinction of "High" to the Snowflake and Pinto patterns that most breeders and websites do not give. We, also, list some facial markings that many breeders do not list.

Pattern:	Pattern Description:	Price Range:	Average Wait Time:
Snowflake	A hedgehog that has a fairly even distribution of solid white spines mixed with their banded spines. To be considered a Snowflake at least 50% of the spines should be solid white with the rest being banded with one of the base colors. This is a hard pattern to distinguish in babies since each hedgehog may begin to "snow" at different ages, even in the same litter. A hedgehog that has one or more Snowflake parents we will list as a "possible Snowflake" even if it is not at the time of sale, since it is very possible for it to "snow" as late as a year of age. The younger a baby hedgehog begins to "snow", the higher its price.	$200 - $250	1 - 2 month wait
High Snowflake	We distinguish a Snowflake that has at least 80% solid white spines as a High Snowflake. A baby that "snows" this much by the time it weans may possibly turn out to be a White, so we would list it as a "possible White". We often will hold onto babies that are possible High Snowflakes longer in order to properly price them. The younger a baby hedgehog begins to "snow", the higher its price.	$225 - $275	1 - 2 month wait
White	A White hedgehog has almost 100% solid white spines, but is not an Albino, since the eyes and skin are dark. Fewer than 10 spines can be banded and are usually located on the forehead. There are 10 - 11 different shades of White possible depending on whether the variety is Algerian or White-belly. We do not list each of the different shades available since it would take a lot of space. Some of the colors we produced on a regular basis are: Silver Charcoal White, Charcoal White, Chocolate White, and Brown White.	$250 - $350	2 - 3 month wait
Picture coming soon! Double White	A Double White hedgehog is very similar to a White but has 100% solid white spines - none of the spines are banded at all. There are 10 - 11 different shades of Double White possible depending on whether the variety is Algerian or White-belly. We do not list each of the different shades available since it would take a lot of space. Some of the colors we produced on a regular basis are: Silver Charcoal White, Charcoal White, Chocolate White, and Brown White.	$300 - $400	3 - 6 month wait
Pinto	A hedgehog that has white patches/spots on less than 50% of its body. Ideally the spots should be symmetrical on both sides of its body. We refer to any hedgehog that has a white spot smaller than a quarter as a "Slight Pinto" and they are priced lower than one that has larger and more symmetrical spots.	$200 - $250	1 - 2 month wait
High Pinto (aka: Uber or Tobiano)	A hedgehog with more than 50% of a its body having all white patches/spots with less than 50% of its body having colored patches/spots. A hedgehog with a more symmetrical pattern is priced higher than one that has a more random pattern. Unique patterning is also priced higher.	$225 - $350	1 - 2 month wait

Facial Markings:
A hedgehog of any color can exhibit facial markings...It is usually seen in hedgehogs with pinto markings or at least pinto genes in their pedigree.
Below are the some of the facial markings that hedgehogs born in our herd may exhibit:

Half-Mask, Pinto-Mask, or Split-Face	Only one side of the face has a mask with varying amounts of color for each hedgehog. If the mask spits the face fairly evenly on one side of the face, we would call this a Half-Mask. Hedgehogs that have only a small patch of color on one side of the face or there are small spots of color on both sides of the face, we would call a Pinto-Mask. Price depends on the uniqueness and uniformity of the marking.	$300 - $500	We can not give a wait time for this pattern, since this gene is very random at this point in hedgehog breeding.
Blaze (Pictured above this hedgehog also has raccoon eye markings)	A Blaze is a white stripe that extends down into the mask, but still has color on either side of the stripe. The width or length of the stripe may vary greatly. The blaze may extend all the way to the nose or only partly down the face. Sometimes the blaze may be crooked or off-center. Price depends on the uniqueness and uniformity of the marking.	$300 - $500	We can not give a wait time for this pattern, since this gene is very random at this point in hedgehog breeding.
Raccoon Eyes (Pictured above this hedgehog also has a blaze marking)	This pattern divides the mask around the eyes from color starting at the nose. There are distinct circles around the eyes resembling the markings of a raccoon. Sometimes only one eye may have a circle. Price depends on the uniqueness and uniformity of the marking.	$250 - $400	We can not give a wait time for this pattern, since this gene is very random at this point in hedgehog breeding.

We do list our hedgehogs with the color names that are listed on the Hedgehog Central website. However, a baby hedgehog's color usually fades by the time it is 6 months old (and even after a year in some cases)...Thus, when we list a baby's color we are listing it as the color that we think it will fade to by 6 months of age, not the color that the baby is currently. Often we will sell our baby hedgehogs according to the simplified color guidelines that are set forth in the article on the Hedgehog World website.
Because of the change in color as a hedgehog ages we can not guarantee the exact color of a baby hedgehog, only the range of the color it will end up in.

In regards to the snowflake pattern (especially high white snowflakes), we want all buyers to be aware that it can be extremely hard to tell the eventual amount of white present at adulthood for this pattern. The amount of white spines will vary as each hedgehog ages. It is not unheard of for a baby hedgehog sold as a chocolate at 6 weeks of age, to change to a high white snowflake (like a chocolate chip) after turning a year old. We are striving to produce snowflake babies that "snow" at much younger ages, but the occasional late "snower" is still possible.
 

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