What materials are okay when building a topper?

[snowflake]

I am moving, and wont be able to bring the big ass aquarium my gerbils are living in, so I´m gonna move them to a smaller one and build a topper instead. I see a lot of people using various toppers made from all kinds of cages and wire mesh, but I´ve also heard a lot of people suggesting you should avoid this since the gerbils can get stuck in them. Can anyone bring my some clarity regarding what I can use, and what I should avoid? 

I am also wondering what I could use to make the floor of the topper, since this needs to be a solid surface, non chewable, safe, and preferably non slippery?

[Thea]

Wire mesh is fine to use for a topper, however if used for the 'floor' of the topper where they walk this isn't best as they may get stuck. If you just want to use wire mesh for the walls/sides of the topper, that's fine.
For the floor, most people I've seen have used wood for a floor. Although this seems risky as wood is chewable, it seems to be successful for most. I believe LilyandDaisy has a topper with a wooden floor, although I may be wrong.
If you're planning on making your own topper, most use a wooden frame/structure and attach wire mesh to it for good ventilation. Something like these:



If you want to use a previously made topper from another cage with a wire floor, I'd recommend covering the wire which they walk on with something - I think I've heard people say seagrass mats work well.
There's probably quite a bit more to add that I haven't said!

[LilyandDaisy]

Yes, I have wooden floors in my topper and the sides are made of mesh.

Some of the floors are pine and some are birch plywood (sold specifically for pets). Normal plywood may not be safe due to the glues used to bond it.



Gerbils will pee all over your topper floors so if they're wooden they need to be painted or sealed. The natural-coloured floors in my topper are painted with a clear non-toxic paint called Plastikote. The large platform with the wheel on it is painted with a water-based gloss paint that said "toy-safe" on the tin. The painted surface is slightly less "grippy" than plain wood would be, but not too slippery.

They have chewed the edges of the shelves a bit but nothing major.