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Hi Alex,
1) Melamine or plywood is dependent on your preference. Melamine does not need sealing, except around the edges, but it is much heavier than plywood and can expand and crack if moisture seeps into it. For plywood, do not use outdoor treated plywood, as they have been treated with chemicals that will offgass and harm your herp. Use furniture grade wood if possible, and avoid aromatic woods like cedar. When using wood, you will need to seal it to make it water resistant. Most people I know use Minwax or Varathane Colours in Plastic. You will need to completely air the cage out for a few weeks before it is safe for your herps.
2) Most people seal the corners and edges with clear silicone, which is readily available at any home depot, or per store (much more expensive). Just make sure that it is 100% silicone.
3) That would depend on convenience and your personal preference. Framed doors that swing out means that you will need space in front of the cage in order to open and close properly. I like sliding glass because it does not have this problem. The key to good ventilation is adequate airflow, not too much that it removes too much heat and humidity from the tank, and not too little where the air stagnates. I like to place air vents at the sides of the cage; 1 high up vent at the hot part of the cage, and a lower vent at the cool part. For vents, I would just buy vent covers from Home Depot, but you could also use hardware cloth. Another option that is quite common is to use pegboard at the top back half of your cage.
Also, dont forget to add a substrate dam. Hope this helps.
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melamine cage?
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