Cage ideas

[RedSky]

I wasn't sure where to put this. Please feel free to move if it is in the wrong place.
So as you may know I don't currently have any ferrets, I have 6 rodents in the house who I completely love and would be devastated to lose them and a OH who is a bit forgetful... Wouldn't end well.
Anyway I am planning on upgrading my hamsters to a bigger cage/unit thing and want this cage to last as long as possible as it is going to be built into an alcove in the kitchen.
Once my lovely little babies have passed and I am ready for some bouncy ferrets I would like them to be able to use the cage. I'm not too concerned about size but about strength.
I am planning on using 6mm plexiglass for part of the front, the rest of the front will be a meshed door with hinges and the rest of the external walls will be 12mm wooden boards and it will have a couple of shelves which will be 6mm wooden boards. Do you think that would stand up to a ferret, or is plexiglass and wood not a good idea for these beasts?

[Sherry]

Ferrets overheat really quickly so air exchange if they are in the house is essential. Also- what will be the overall size? Height, width, length?

[RedSky]

I'm currently thinking (but open to ideas) of having 2 cages stacked on top of each other (although to make it into one cage I can just cut away some of the wood or have tunnels from one cage to the other).
The size of each cage will be about 135cm/53 inch (length) by 50cm/19.5 inch (depth) by 55cm/21.5 inch.
The only ventilation as I plan to have it now is 25cm of mesh on the front of the cage which will also be the door. I could however remove the perspex and replace all the front with stronger mesh doors.

I am hoping (once I actually have ferrets) that this will be their indoor cage, with a tunnel running across the kitchen and out the window into the shed. We are having the current shed extended so that it will house the raw meat freezer (for our dog) and have room for the ferrets. Would this work okay?

[RedSky]

I think I have decided on an ikea unit called BESTÅ, it measure 120x40x64cm. I am thinking that for the time being the hamsters can go in the dining room in the alcove there but in the future (when I get my ferrets) I might move them up to the spare bedroom to that alcove so the units need to fit both alcoves. I can keep that door locked so any little ones safe and hopefully by then ferret nations will be much easier to buy over here (UK) and I can possible fit two doubles together in that alcove as their indoor cage.
I can't currently have the hamsters upstairs as it is my sisters bedroom and it will be for a while (she is 14) and the hamsters keep her awake. There is already one in there haha.

[Deleted]

I'm not sure that particleboard can stand up to a ferret's urine and poop. They also love to spill water, and wet particleboard will be an invitation to dig. Ferrets are super good diggers and it won't take long for them to find a way out.
Maybe another ferrent on the forum has some experience with using something like this as a cage, and can offer some more insight.

[RedSky]

Yeah, the more I think about it the less likely it is to work. Also I'm starting to think the back board isn't going to be secure for hamsters, so back to making my own. Although I've decided to keep rescuing hamsters (or other small rodents) but house them upstairs in a locked room when I get my ferrets. Currently the room is often occupied so can't have them up their yet.

[Deleted]

Well speaking of hamster cages I really love my bin cage that I made. THeyre super cheap and durable. I dont see why you couldn't find a size that would fit where you need it to