Hi there. A few tips before you buy. Many accessories and toys sold are unsuitable for Syrian (teddy bear) hamsters as they are too small and only suitable for dwarf hamsters. Anything with an entrance hole that is too small has risks. Also a lot of toys sold for hamsters are not safe - eg ladders with rungs, cloth hammocks and some things made with nails. You can also use a lot if things you already have as hamster toys. Cardboard is always good and safe to chew. Eg a shoebox or tissue box for a house and cardboard tubes from kitchen rolls as tubes and tunnels (slit them down the side so they expand if it’s for a Syrian Hamster).
I wasted a lot of money in rubbish toys that looked cute initially- that either broke very quickly or weren’t safe.
So start thinking about what items you need and the odd fun item is always nice. The basics are
1) A good sized house or nesting box that is open underneath so it can sit directly on the substrate (so they can build a big cosy nest and bury hoards under it).
2) A wheel that is the right size and with a solid running track - not mesh. 6.5” to 10” diameter is fine for dwarf hamsters. 8” to 12” diameter is fine for Syrian hamsters. Ideally 10 to 11” for most Syrians.
3) A potty litter tray and chinchilla bathing sand to put in it (for Syrian hamsters - they will use it if you put it in the place they choose as a pee corner and it saves on substrate and reduces how often cleaning is needed which also reduces stress of clean outs for the hamster).
4) A sand bath - this is mainly for dwarf hamsters - you can use any kind of household dish - eg a Pyrex casserole dish or a salt pig
Again Chinchilla bathing sand for that.
5) A good water bottle - ideally 2 or 3 so you have spares in case one fails or even use two water bottles in the cage/tank so if one does fail the other should work.
6) Safe substrate - Boxo (bull bedding) or Kaytee clean and cosy are good.
7) Nesting material - plain white toilet paper is best - torn into strips - a big pile of it so they can forage for it to build their nest.
A shelf or platform - I think this is really important to help them feel secure - they like to have something to sit under and it helps the cage not feel too exposed from above. It’s also somewhere else to go and a good place to put heavier items like a sandbath or food bowl - they can tunnel under heavy items if they’re on the substrate and get squashed).
9) Basic toys like bendy stick bridges.
10) Cork logs also make good toys - a large tunnel that is also an interesting texture to climb over and could be used as a ramp up to a shelf if sat partly under a shelf.
11) Hidey places as toys - eg a coconut, cardboard egg boxes with a hole cut out, and you can get little hides like fruit shapes for fun items.
12) Chew sticks to help keep their teeth trim- whimzees in the smallest size are popular.
Other fun items can be little wood chews shaped like fruits or a caterpillar eg. Or hanging kabobs you can put treats on. Possibly get a sheet of sandpaper! (See below)
Things to avoid - anything with chains - hamsters can get a foot caught and break a leg. Open runged ladders. Check any wood items for splinters or nails or anything else sharp.
Fluffy bedding type things or kapok are a big no no.
Personally I think amazon is the place to go - smalller shops often sell on there and amazon themselves sell a lot of items. Reptile stores on Amazon sell cork logs.
Another thing to get is sisal string - untreated - you should be able to get that on eBay. It is safe for hamsters to chew and can be used to tie things to cages instead of chains etc. Handy to have around.
Big thing of course is getting the right cage/tank. There is a good cage on amazon called the precursor cage- it’s about 80cm by 50cm and not too expensive. That is good for a Syrian but too tall for a dwarf hamster. It’s not too expensive either. Other alternatives are the Lixit Mickey 2XL ( barrow bar spacing and suitable for either a Syrian or dwarf hamster but not cheap - on Amazon). Or the Marchioro Kevin (if you can find one!). Abbaseed also sell the Fop Tamburino which is good for a dwarf hamster and not too expensive. Other than that you can make a bin cage or a detolf hack or get a 40 gallon breeder tank.