Absolute newbie Hi

[Alnes1]

Morning all my wife and I are venturing in to keeping a Syrian hamster we are just getting all the equipment together as we speak we have chosen the Bucatstate 3 120cm enclosure I am just sourcing some paper bedding could someone please advise on how much we need I have seen it could take 300 / 350 ltr our issue is the different brands with different measures eg kg or ltrs any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thank you for your help and we will forward our journey as it evolves
Regards Alan &Nes

 

[Maz]

Hello. That sounds like a lucky hamster My preference for bedding is Fitch (recycled food grade paper bedding). Hamsters like it and it holds tunnels. It's sold in 70 litre bags. When filling a 120cm cage to about 10" deep, I used slightly less than 2 of the 70 litre bags. It's shown on this video of the Savic Aura 120 plexi cage towards the end (skip to about 4 minutes 35 seconds - chapter "putting the bedding in" - it shows the bedding going in). As the Aura 120 has a slightly sloping base (despite being about the same width and depth as the Bucatstate 120), the two bags of Fitch would probably give you 9 to 10" of bedding. It also shows the size of a 70 litre bag of fitch (linked below).

Fitch pet bedding from Amazon

From Fitch first

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[Alnes1]

Thank you Maz I will look into that can't wait we are very excited although we are not rushing will take some pics soon as possible

 

[Maz]

Do keep us updated!

 

[Alnes1]

Just a quick question please sorry if it's in the wrong section is the niteangel products worth the money thank you

 

[Maz]

It depends - are you in the Uk or the US? (They tend to be quite a bit more expensive in the UK). There are a lot of smaller companies selling nice safe products for hamsters as well in the Uk. Some of their products are nice and good, but they vary. The wheels are very popular but quite expensive.

If in the Uk, Happy Henry Homes makes very good houses, platforms and other items (you can choose the leg length for the houses and platforms). It's a small family run company but the products are good quality and hamster safe - their delivery times can be a bit slow though.

 

[Alnes1]

Hi yes we are in the uk beautiful Cornwall thank you for the advice I will take a look

 

[Maz]

That sounds lovely. I haven't been to Cornwall for years. So what particular Niteangel items were you looking at? Some of the bridges are nice but some are a bit small for Syrians and more dwarf sized. The multiroom houses are, in my opinion, not their best products - they are really quite heavy - including the roof - not sure what type of wood they are made from, but there have been concerns over the loose fitting roof, which is possibly a safety hazard, especially with it being quite heavy., There have been some reports of hamsters pushing the roof up and it falling on them and killing them. Other multiroom houses etc either have well fitting roofs or much lighter ones.

Personally I now use the large multiroom house from Happy Henry's Homes. Getzoo also make well made houses, but they have less options for multiroom houses.

Honey 3 paws hides on Instagram makes some lovely hides and platforms decorated however you want and various different designs.

Hamsters we love sells some nice hides, and also sprays and other treats and are a good place to buy from

Personally I use the platforms from Happy Henry homes. Getzoo also have quite a selection of different sized and shaped platforms, but not sure if all of them have the option of different length leg sizes.

Chamber Houses | Happy Henry’s Homes

www.happyhenryshomes.co.uk

Platforms | Happy Henry’s Homes

www.happyhenryshomes.co.uk

Sand Baths | Happy Henry’s Homes

www.happyhenryshomes.co.uk

Rodent houses - Species-appropriate & handmade retreats for rodents

Discover handmade rodent houses for hamsters, guinea pigs & rabbits. Multi-chamber houses, corner houses & cube houses offer safe retreats. Quality from Germany for species-appropriate furnishings.

www.getzoo.de

Wooden shelves for rodents - more structure & safety in the enclosure

Discover stable wooden shelves for hamsters, mice & chinchillas. Perfect for running wheels, drinking troughs & food bowls - provide more structure & safety in the enclosure. Getzoo Wooden shelves with sturdy wooden feet for a stable & spe

www.getzoo.de

SHOP | Hamsters We Love

www.hamsterswelove.co.uk

@honey_three_paws_hides (on Instagram) - no link due to forum regulations but you can look it up!

Also here is our list of recommended wheels - in case you're looking at alternatives as well as Niteangel ones

Hamster Wheels 2026

Just to have an up to date guide for suitable Hamster wheels available in 2025. Note some links on this thread are Amazon affiliate links and other affiliate links, for which this site receives a commission, at no extra cost to you. So if you're looking to buy a wheel that is sold by Amazon...

www.thehamsterforum.com

Of the Niteangel items that seem popular and well made there are these:

Pedometer for Niteangel wheel

Niteangel water bowl with raised centre (although you could use an Ikea Glasig Tealight and they are cheaper).

Niteangel smooth bendy bridge

Niteangel peep tunnel (these are popular but expensive and there are similar ones from other brands)

Niteangel super silent wheel (popular but expensive)

Bucatstate also make some nice ceramic hides big enough for Syrians

Oasis hide

Mushroom hide

Pear hide

There are also a lot of inexpensive enrichment items you can buy or make - cardboard tunnels or even tissue box hides

Rosewood hyacinth tunnel - inexpensive

Rosewood carrot cottage - popular with hamsters and inexpensive

Rosewood cardboard and hay sandbath

 

[Alnes1]

Wow thank you so much very detailed info really appreciate that at the moment we are looking at there wooden wheel and water bottle and holder most of the platforms I will probably make myself I was a carpenter I totally agree about there huts and houses they do look heavy thank you again we will keep looking

 

[Maz]

That sounds great if you can do carpentry A multiroom house is essentially a wooden box without a base, and partititions with holes cut for doors - and a roof.

This was the type I used to like from Rodipet - unfortunately they have closed down and no longer sell anything, What was good about this design was the location of the rooms. My hamsters all nested in the front left larger room - because it was the darkest area, around two corners so no light got on. They all used a corner toilet in the middle back room (next to the nest so easy to get out of bed and go to the loo!). The top entrance hole needs to be away from any dark nesting areas (it's on the other side). I sometimes used to cut out the partition between the larger room and small one at the back so the hamster could have a larger nesting area.

Getzoo and Rodipet were the original companies to make multiroom or labyrinth houses. While there are many similar ones made now, some of them get the top hole in the wrong place so there's no dark area. The Happy Henry homes one is the same layout as this which is why I like it. It's also very light.