The Hagen Living World Reed Hut in the hamster size is a woven sea grass dome, 16 cm across. It is a hide and a chew toy at the same time, which is a sensible combination for an animal that will gnaw whatever you give it anyway.

Key Features

• All Sea Grass: Woven plant fibre with nothing painted, coated or glued on it
• Hide And Nest: Opaque, enclosed and dark inside, which is what a hamster is looking for
• Edible: Meant to be chewed, so the gnawing does not have to be discouraged
• Size: 16 x 16 x 14 cm, scaled for hamsters and similar small rodents
• Nesting Material Too: The strands a hamster pulls off go into the nest

Hides Are Not Optional

Rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters are all prey animals, and a pet with nowhere to disappear to lives in a state of low-level alarm whether it looks calm or not. A hide is what lets an animal choose to come out rather than having no option but to be visible, and the usual advice is one hide per animal plus a spare, so nobody can be shut out of the only safe place.

Why Sea Grass

Sea grass is woven, edible plant fibre with nothing coated or glued on it, which is the whole point for an animal that tests everything with its teeth. A plastic hide has to be guarded against chewing; this one is meant to be chewed. It also matters that a hide is opaque and has a way in and a way out -- prey animals do not settle in anything they can be cornered in.

Chewing It Is The Point, Within Reason

Sea grass is meant to be nibbled and most small pets will strip a hut or tunnel down over weeks or months -- that is the product working, and it is why these are sold cheaply enough to replace. Watch the first few days with a new one. A pet that tears off long strands and swallows them whole rather than chewing them small should not be left alone with it, since fibrous strands can tangle in the gut. Replace it once it is soiled, damp or frayed into loose threads, and take it out straight away if it gets urinated on -- it cannot be washed.

Who Makes It

Living World is the small animal and bird brand of Rolf C. Hagen, the Montreal company founded in 1955. The range covers cages, hay feeders, houses, dishes and supplements for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and cage birds.

Out Of Stock Right Now

This one is out of stock at the moment. The page is here for reference while we wait on the next delivery -- ask us and we will tell you where it is.

Good To Know

• Expect to replace it. A hut that is being eaten is working, and this is a consumable rather than a fixture.
• Take it out at once if it gets urinated on. Woven sea grass cannot be washed, and damp fibre goes mouldy quickly in this climate.
• Syrian hamsters live alone. If you have two in one cage they will eventually fight, and no number of hides fixes that.
• Check the inside when you clean the cage -- hoarded food goes off in there out of sight.