Hi - I just realised you have two threads
Just posted on the other one. I linked the Savic Hamster Plaza on the other thread which is kind of a compromise between the Barney and Alaska
As for wheels -you can fit a 12" cage easily into either the Barney, Alaska or Savic Hamster Plaza.
You can use any kind of dish for a sand bath - a pyrex shallow casserole dish eg or some people use those angled cookie jars or salt pig. I've found neither of our syrians have been that bothered by a sand bath, but I use the sand in their litter tray, which kind of does both. You could still have a sand bath as well, but if you put a litter tray where they choose to pee (often a corner of the cage) it keeps the cage clean and you just need to empty the litter tray
If you have a large house in the cage you can put the litter tray inside the house - as they often choose a corner of the house to pee in if the house/nesting box is large enough.
Personally I would go with the Savic Plaza over the Alaska just because there is more scope for enrichment and adding a lot of larger things. Syrians need larger toys really - rat sized toys are good. But it really depends on what kind of set up you go for.
The 12" Silent Runner (not spinner) wheel is good and that can be attached to the bars to have it at the height you want, above the substrate so it makes cage set up easier and frees up floor space. It's also very stable attached to the bars. But it's not a cheap wheel at £25 and the bar mounting plates are another £5.
An alternative could be an 11" wodent wheel hung from the top of the cage, which gives the same idea (ie making sure the wheel doesn't restrict floor space and substrate levels). It's not silent but pretty quiet. Costs about £15. That might depend on how big your syrian is! The 11" wodent wheel is quite slim - big enough for most Syrians but a 12" wheel would be big enough for any syrian.
This is the Hamster plaza.
http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wcs...E&gclsrc=aw.ds