so i had three boy rats and was very happy, the last one died a few months ago and am still grieving. I was hoping to get some animal like a ferret to get through my loss but that's not really an option right now. I haven't gotten a new rat because there are a few things stopping me because while i was happy with my ratties some things were difficult and I'm not sure i want to repeat it. I'm not taking responsibility for a new rat until i know i can give it the best life and that's why I'm seeking advice.
The problems i met with my bucks was that they fought and bullied each other, but if i separated them they got depressed, so what can i do to stop them fighting? I can't get them spayed though and I can't get females because I'm allergic to them.
Potty training and smell, so we all know they can smell bad but cleaning out their cages every day is expensive and so much work so what can i do to help with them smell? Their bathroom habits were a disaster, my three needed a big space so i gave them a ferret cage and they went wherever they pleased so the pee would go everywhere and shoot out the side of the cage onto the floor and walls and make their cage so smelly because the walls were covered in it. After i got them toilets it helped some but the rats chose to sleep in them and that made the rats smell terrible. I used a scent suppressant for ferrets and rats, and again spaying is not an option. They also went on my and some furniture a lot, i really couldn't care less about a little rat pee on myself but people don't like rats peeing on their couches and that's a problem because my rats like to climb off me and explore when we're cuddling on the couch. However we cuddled for hours and you can't ask a rat to hold itself until it's back in it's house so what can i do to make sure they can go when they need to go but not go on the couch or bed?
Health and fitness, how can i make sure rats get the exercise they need? rats like wheels but not all of them seem to, one of mine did when it was a baby but then my brother used my wheel for his rats and by the time i got it back my rat no longer was interested in using it. male rats are so lazy and mine refused to exercise but maybe i was doing something wrong.
If i get some more rats it'll be a pair of baby bucks and they'll be kept in a little glass tank, be fed left over human food in addition to rat food, be given fresh clean water with liquid rat smell suppressant added and a corner toilet box.
If you have any answers to these problems i thank you for your help and if i remember more I'll add them. If you have any advice apart from what I've said on how i can give my new rats the best lives and what you've done that have made yours so happy and healthy i would be so happy to learn from you.