[flowerfairy]

You could make a table with a small hole in it and use it as a top floor with some kind of log bridge or similar to enable your hamster to climb up there. That would take away a lot of the height.

I have been meaning to do this for a couple of my hammies for months now for the same reason.

All mine love deeeeep substrate with a bottomless house on top so that they can burryow down and make big food stashes!