Rotastak are the tubes/accessories you're talking about. Way more expensive than a normal cage, but pretty funky.
One thing to watch out for (although for some reason it always seemed to be gerbils, not hamsters) the animals sometimes gnaw at the tube ends where they connect, and if they do they can chew right through and get out.

Mind you, my knowledge is based on working in a pet shop 15 years ago, so they might have solved the problem by now.

Did you know that all Syrian hamsters in Britain come from a single breeding pair brought in in the 30's? Their life span used to be about 6 months because of how inbred they were, but as the gene pool has got more and more spread out, they can live 3 years and more these days.


Make sure you handle it regularly and it will be a lovely and friendly pet. Don't handle it enough, and it will be scared of you and probably take a lump out of you at some point.