[Emma]

The main points to consider about the cage that you have is the tubes and the drops. Tubes are often too narrow for adult syrian hamsters - so watch for this. You're right to worry about drops - cages with levels should overlap so that there isn't a great height anywhere for the hamster to fall (because they will just jump off heights sometimes!)



Do you know the make/name of the cage that you have, or could you post a photo of it?



Everyone has their own personal faves when it comes to cages (I'm also a Ferplast Tube Line fan, but I think as a stand alone single cage the Savic Cambridge is also fabby and nice looking too!). Have a look through the housing section - there's quite a few posts about cages, to confuse you even more!



I'd never use sawdust as it is too fine and dusty for the hamster. Some people advise against using pine wood shavings as they fear that they cause liver damage in small pets - I don't really agree with this (it may cause some changes that are relevant in the laboratory but I do not believe there is any evidence it actually causes disease in pets). Wood shavings can cause problems for some individual animals who are more sensitive, as they can be irritant to the skin or breathing. My personal choice for litter are a mix of Carefresh and Bob Martins 100% Paper-based litter (like Carefresh, but smaller bits and cheaper). There are loads of other choices out there too though - aspen, hemp, megazorb....