Trouble bonding with my rat?!

Having trouble bonding with my rats?

I got a pet rat 8 days ago (named Louis) and another 6 days ago (named Mordecai) and they are both adjusting at different rates..*
Louis will happily sit in my hand while I stroke him. He'll eat from my hand and sleep whilst being held. He doesn't hide or scurry away when approached and will even walk up to me. He is still learning to trust us, but he's doing so well.*

However, Mordecai doesn't seem to be doing as well.. He hides, doesn't come near anyone and will hide, hates being picked up and will poop several times, almost instantly, when held. A few days ago, he seemed to be making progress and was even licking me and dozing off in my hand. It seems the last 48 hours have been a downfall and is acting as though it's his first time meeting us..*

The rats get along great. They sleep together, eat together, play fight.. So they're fine together.*

Is this normal? For it to seem as though it's going completely backwards? Louis just seems to be way more ahead than Mordecai. I'm just worried we won't be able to bond. I hold them both as often as I can, together and individually. But Mordecai just poops on us instantly and won't calm down, as though he's terrified..*

Thanks in advance for your input.

It is very normal and it sounds like you are respecting their social needs at their pace which is great. Each rat is different. Some will spook more than others, something simple like a new item in the room. I once added a new box to the play area and one of my rats refused to come out for a week! But eventually he got used to it so it's a matter of encouraging as well as respecting their pace. joinrats.com is an excellent site with tons of advice on how to bond with your friends and trust training as well.

how old are your boys?

6 days is not very long, it can take some weeks (and in some cases, months) for a rat to come around, it depends on many things, but their individual personality is a big factor.
It's not uncommon to have a rat who is confident and bonds with you quickly and other rats who may not.

there's a lot of good info on getting your rat to trust you, etc on this site:
http://www.joinrats.com/

I adopted two five month old boys a little bit ago, and they both acted like Mordecai initially. I tried pretty much every socialization method with them, and some of them worked pretty okay. The problem was that I'd hit a wall after awhile of playing socialization offense, so to speak. I felt that I'd gotten as far as I was going to get. So at the end of the day, I decided to take a more relaxed approach. Instead of using bonding pouches and blankets and everything that worked with my girls, I went about my business. I would let them come up on my bed and run around while I worked or read. I didn't go out of my way to pet them or hold them too much. I let them come to me. Ultimately, I think that this worked the best. Neither of them are very fond of being held, and that's just the way that they are. But it's because I gave them their space - while allowing them to exist in my space - that they're even okay with being pet or picked up at all (like when I need to handle them).

Your boys are still pretty young, so don't worry too much if it's not working how you would like! Good luck!

glitchiq said:

Instead of using bonding pouches and blankets and everything that worked with my girls, I went about my business. I would let them come up on my bed and run around while I worked or read. I didn't go out of my way to pet them or hold them too much. I let them come to me. Ultimately, I think that this worked the best. Neither of them are very fond of being held, and that's just the way that they are. But it's because I gave them their space - while allowing them to exist in my space - that they're even okay with being pet or picked up at all (like when I need to handle them).

Your boys are still pretty young, so don't worry too much if it's not working how you would like! Good luck!

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That is what I do too .... mine are all rescues and sometimes they arrive very frightened of people .... so I don't push it

We let everyone work at their pace. I have had some take months if not close to a year to come around. Many of course come from less then ideal first human interactions but we just work slow. Each small success taken in stride and rewarded for all. And if we go back we just try to decide was it something we did or just a fluke. If we can help fix it we will if not we move on and forward