One of my favorite materials for such applications is fiber cement board aka" Hardy Plank" (brand name) doesn't quite have the shear strength of plywood but you can still use it in place of plywood within reason and it will work just fine, a good frame is important though . You can also use plywood on the exterior and glue the hardy plank to the inside of the substrate box using a construction adhesive. I have an Iguana cage I built in may of 2001 the hide box for the iguanas is made of hardy plank with foam panels sandwiched between the sheets of hardy plank (Increases the shear strength-look up some articles on foam panels for housing for more info on that.) That hide box that has been stained once in that time with bear solid exterior deck and fencing stain. Has gone all that time surviving every rainstorm and the several hurricanes thrown at it and is only now showing signs of wear and most of that wear is from me walking on it when I plastic the cage up in the winter. The plywood I have used on my rabbit cages lasts 1-2 years and I have in fact stopped using plywood for the roofs of the rabbit cages and started using hardy plank.

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