any sugar glider owners? How are they?

we have gliders now, they don't have a strong smell, unless you got a intact male. we have had ours for almost 18 months now we went from 1 to currently 7 ( wife has 3 I got 4 . One of mine had it foot amputated with her first owner ( she had 7 now) they do require a lot of special food, time and a vet. I always suggest if you want to see a glider find a glider owner and ask to visit . explaining why. they not a oh I busy I can t play this week with you type of guys they need daily attention.

a few things to warn you they can't be trained ( litter wise), they can and do bite and will pee on you and rub themselves on you . ( this is a sign you have been accepted into the colony and they trying to make you smell more like them. ) they do bark and they crab if unhappy. the vet care is higher than a cat or dog. some area's they are illegal to own.

You sound like you're in the same boat as me... I wanted small furry interactive pets but had developed an allergy to hay (I had guinea pigs for about 1 year and had to rehome them due to the hay allergy). I would NOT get a rabbit or chin...as they need hay and your allergy will get worse over time and you would end up having to rehome it.... I would love to have a chin or rabbit if my allergy wasn't an issue.

I would suggest looking into female rats as others have said. They do smell unless you clean the cage frequently... Once a week should be fine, but if you want very very little odor, clean maybe twice a week. Also getting the largest cage possible with few rats will cut down on odor. They are very intelligent and can be very affectionate if you buy from a good breeder that socializes them and breeds for temperament. The downside is that they have a short lifespan... I've had some die at 1.5 years... right now my oldest is about 1.8 years old.

They can sort of be litter trained (poo mainly) but will pee in other areas. Having a good bedding layer (I use shredded apsen with either paper or pine pellets beneath) helps. Also feeding them a good diet helps too.. You can easily buy a good lab block online (I use native earth / harlan 2018) and you can supplement with everyday foods like sunflower seeds, veggies, etc.

Gliders are cool... I've seen some in person, but the extensive care / diet / vet requirements, as well as the peeing everywhere put me off of getting one.