A grid enclosure is the answer when nothing off the shelf is the right shape. Twenty-four panels — twelve solid PP boards and twelve wire lattices — clip together with slotted connectors at whatever angle you need, so you can run it along a wall, wrap it round a chimney breast, or build a long rectangle down the side of a room. Roughly 142 x 71 x 53cm in the standard layout, and something else entirely if you want.

Mixing solid and wire panels is more useful than it first appears. Solid boards at the base stop bedding being kicked out and give a draught-free side to sleep against; wire panels keep sightlines and airflow. The boards wipe clean with a damp cloth. Non-slip rubber pads protect wooden floors and stop the whole enclosure travelling, and the cable ties let you add a door or fix a ramp once you know how you want it.

• Roughly 142cm long x 71cm wide x 53cm high as standard
• 12 PP panels (17 x 35cm) and 12 wire lattice panels (35 x 35cm)
• 4cm wire spacing, about a finger's width
• 36 ABS buckles, 30 cable ties, 12 anti-slip pads and a wooden mallet
• Wipe-clean surfaces; 4.6kg
• Reconfigurable at any time into any shape

Match the spacing to your animal. 4cm is fine for rabbits, adult guinea pigs and puppies. It is too wide for hamsters, mice and young or dwarf animals, who will get through a 4cm gap without much trouble — for those, use the tighter 1.5cm grid systems instead.

Who it's for: Anyone whose room refuses to accommodate a rectangular cage, keepers who want to extend later, and owners of rabbits or guinea pigs who have concluded shop-bought cages are too small.