assurances about rats

[Faolan]

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.

[ROACH]

Your "allergic to a Female Rat" but not a Male? Im sorry if I dont understand this, just never heard of being allergic to a sex and not a breed. Please help me understand!

[George1994]

Your "allergic to a Female Rat" but not a Male? Im sorry if I dont understand this, just never heard of being allergic to a sex and not a breed. Please help me understand!

Yeah, I'm not sure this is true.

Rats produce allergies from 3 different sources. Dead skin cells, saliva and urine. I don't see how these differe between males and females. I may be wrong, but I can't see it.

[MrLang]

Get your rats from another source. Most breeders who take it seriously will selectively breed out the bully males. Raise them from babies together like you said. They are naturally clean animals, you just need to give them options. Give them a place to sleep that's off the ground and give multiple litter boxes for them to go in on the ground. Put a few drops of vanilla extract in their water to cut down on scent and above all - feed a good diet to avoid bad smell and frequent bathroom needs. When you clean, keep soiled bedding in the litter boxes to help them understand they should go in the smelly place.

X3 about the allergies - if you're allergic, you're allergic.

[satomi325]

Ferrets are much more work and take more responsibility to own than rats. Not to mention they are not cheap to maintain.

Honestly, try getting females again. It doesn't make sense how you can be allergic to the girls and not the boys.

The females are cleaner and smell so much less than bucks. And they don't territory scent mark everything either. While males are more cuddly, they aren't very smart compared to the girls in my opinion. And females are way more active than the boys. Adult males are known to be pretty lazy.

I retired my first generation group of female breeders as pets. They were litter trained within a day after living their entire lives in a breeder rack.

Diet will also affect odor. Feeding a high quality food will help. And you can put a few drops of vanilla extract into the water to help with odor.

Regarding the litter box, they love corners. Once they establish a pee spot, add a box there. Honestly, like ferrets, fill up all corners of the cage with something. Either bedding, a wheel, toys, or the litter box. Otherwise, they'll use them as bathroom corners.


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[Faolan]

I wish i understood it too but frankly i don't know how it's possible either. My brother and i both had rats, i had boys and he had girls, and we are both react more to the does. For me it's not as bad, if either doe or buck scratches me it gets itchy, red, and swollen but if i handle a male rat and bury my face and nose in their fur and breath in I'm fine, but for some strange reason if i do this with a female rat my nose gets a little snuffly and my face itches slightly. My brother is a little more sensitive to allergies like with cats and yes rats too but he reacts a little worse to his females than to my males. I'm sorry i know it makes no sense whatsoever, especially since all the rats were related as mother and her babies, but we tried with an unrelated buck of mine and got the same result.