Okay, so you've all informed me that galvanised mesh is toxic to suggies, but unfortunately I've just found out that ungalvanised mesh is not available in South Africa :( Two questions regarding this:

1. Why is the galvanised mesh toxic to gliders, but not to parrots and other animals?
2. The mesh supplier that I queried regarding wanting to order the mesh from, said that the mesh can be painted with roof paint (the paint here is completely lead free), but I was wondering if powder coating (also lead free) the mesh wouldn't be better / safer? What do they use to coat ready made cages like bird cages, etc.... ?

Thanks a mil!

If I remember right, the galvanized wire can cause urinary tract infections. Gliders will use the bathroom all over their cages, peeing down the side of the wire, etc. I'm not exactly sure how it causes the UTI but I assume it's something to do with this fact.

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your other questions.

Use the galvanized wire, you'll be fine. It helps to keep the cage in a well ventilated area to dry urine out quickly. And yes, you can take your cage in to be power coated. They may even suggest sand blasting it first to remove any coatings on the wire to hold the spray better.

I beleive that the reason that galvaized wire is not recommended is that there is a metal (zinc I believe) that is left exposed that could be toxic to gliders but I have seen cages made of galvanized wire, so... The cages I have are powder-coated steel. Most powder-coat paints are non-toxic and that is why they are used. I know that several people that use this site have built cages from PVC pipe, pvc-coated hardware cloth or hardware net. Kazko is correct in that sandblasting first will prepare the surface of the cage for painting and make a better surface for adhesion. Just do not try to sandblast or have someone sand blast a chromed surface-nightmare to get cleaned off.

Thanks so much for the replies! I actually feel relieved that there's options! :D now I can start designing! My mom in law has lots of mesh for the parrot cages, so at least I won't need to buy that.