I used to use wood shavings for my long haired Syrian before I found out they aren't great, they used to get all tangled in his butt fluff too. I switched to Hemp bedding from Zooplus which is £16 for a 14kg bale that lasts months and months if you only do monthly full cleans with spot cleaning, and I do put a really decent amount in the cages for burrowing. It's never stuck in his fur like wood shavings did. It's great at odour control, my flat never smells like hamster, not even in the rooms they're in. The bedding itself has a really natural, nutty smell to it. I think another popular hemp based bedding is Auboise, it's usually cheaper but I've never been able to find a reliable, consistent supplier so I just stick with the Zooplus hemp
