I think the Barney is much better value than the Alaska and you are unlikely to want to upgrade to something bigger with it. It's £15 more ish than the Alaska but it comes with everything you need except a wheel and toys. It has a good shelf/platform (that can cost if you have to buy them separately and good shelves aren't easy to find) and it also comes with a good sized house for a Syrian. The shelf and house make it worth the extra £15 I think plus it's a really good sized cage for a Syrian with more floorspace (it's deeper as well as longer). Plus it has 7mm bar spacing (as opposed to 1cm for the Alaska) so can be used for any species of hamster in future (with a bit of adapting for a dwarf - eg additional shelves etc for height).
I have the Barney for our Syrian
. I actually don't have the clips or handles on it - I just leave the cage top on top of the base (there are inner "clips" attached to the base that hold it secure). As it's a large cage and takes more substrate you can spot clean mostly (and use a litter tray for your hammy) and don't need to take the bars off that often. I go months without doing a full substrate clean with spot cleaning and a litter tray. And just do toys and wheel as and when. So you use a lot of substrate to start with but in the long run you use less really.
The Alaska is fine - but some people find they then want to upgrade to something bigger for a Syrian - the floorspace can fill up quickly once you have a house and wheel in there as well as the shelf. Plus it needs a house. The white cat house has holes that are too small for a syrian and needs taking out really - plus they do better with a house open underneath and on top of the substrate.
If it was me the choice would be between the Barney, Alexander and the Savic Plaza. The Savic Plaza also has a big front opening door like the Alaska.
With the Barney and Alexander you'd need to plastikote the shelf and house really - not a big job with the Barney. A little pot of plastikote costs £4 and would easily do a couple of coats on the shelf and inside the house. You might need two pots if doing the outside of the house as well. It's pet safe waterproofing paint so you can wipe it clean and avoids the house getting pee soaked in case that happens! Paints on in minutes and dries in hours. I just use a normal paint brush half inch size. There'd be a lot more plastikoting with the Alexander but it's also a lovely cage for a Syrian.
The Barney has the advantage of being able to fit a Syrian sized wheel wherever you want it though, with it's flat roof. Whereas it can only really go in the centre back in the Alexander. The Barney also comes with a very basic 8" wheel which would do as a starter wheel although most people get a 28cm trixie wheel (cheap) or a 12" silent Runner (not cheap but silent and very good).
If I didn't have the Barney I'd get the Savic Plaza - the base is the same size as the Alexander (not quite as deep as the Barney) and about the same height. So it is quite a tall cage. The downside is it costs quite a bit more than the Barney and could do with an additional shelf. It has 1cm Bar Spacing. But with the front door you can use the roof to attach things as well (although I've managed to do that in the Barney anyway but limited to areas around the top door). The Plaza isn't the cheapest option - the cage costs more, it needs a house (although you could make a shoe box house) and probably another shelf/platform. The Alexander has a good long house built in and the Barney house is fine too.
Link to Savic Plaza
http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pe...r-and-rat-cage
Here is a photo comparison of the three - sorry they're not quite to scale - the Alexander photo is smaller and the Barney photo is a bit bit. The Plaza and Alexander are about the same size. The Barney is the same length but a bit deeper
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Alaska or Barney cage
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