[ferndalezoo]

From the point of fview of a mother of teenagers: Your mother is to be commended for raising a child who is so responsible and concerned for other living things that you researched and want to provide the best care for your pet that you can. That says a lot about you as a person, and reflects well on her and her parenting.

With regards to the cage-- have you asked your mom what her objections are to the bigger cage? It's hard to offer suggestions on what specifically to say without knowing why she opposes building one.

If she's concerned about the space it will take up-- is the cage in your room? Or somewhere very public, like the living room?

If she's concerned about odor-- I found that any odor problems were dramatically improved when we made the cage bigger. The bigger cage is actually EASIER to clean and to keep clean.

If she's concerned about the cost of supplies-- have you told her how little it will actually cost? You could always resell the current petstore cage on craigslist (market it as a rat or hamster cage) to help cover the cost.