Skittish and nervous

[Scythe]

I've been waiting and waiting to see if this was just a 'new home' thing and that maybe constant interaction with Ed would make this stop, but it hasn't.

He's generally very skittish and nervous. He's not happy being pet and given attention like the other two; he'll scream and squeak. Same if I pick him up(Not always, but usually). If I let him have out time, he is absolutely determined to get off the bed and hide and then cause me to spend half an hour digging him out because he wont come out on his own. And then if the other two are trying to play and knock him over, or try to groom him, he screams then, too(though I don't blame him, Al pulls his hair out).

Yet, still, he'll greet me at the door of the cage, and even escape it to have a mini-out time on the top of his cage. As long as I'm not touching him or he's not too far from the cage, he wont squeak, scream, or seem nervous and skittish.

Is there anything I can do to calm him down? Make him less skittish? It's not like he doesn't get attention everytime I'm in the room, so I'd have thought he might be used to it all by now. Is it possible if I neutered him after Al, that it might help him calm down?

 

[Maple]

Some rats are just like that. Keep giving him treats and talking softly but be prepared....he may never change.

 

[jorats]

Have you tried the "down the shirt" trick with him?
But like Maple said, some rats are just like that by nature. You gotta love what you can get. I've got 4 boys like that... they know I love them but I better not ever grab them when outside of the cage.

 

[Scythe]

Yeah, I've tried that. And he'll even go in my shirt on his own, he'll crawl around in my bed sheets and stuff when he's out(and not making a dash for it). I've had to stuff the bedding fabric they destroyed into all the nooks and crannies in my room so he cant get into it now.

I figured there might be a chance he would be like that forever, but I was just wondering if maybe there were other things I could do to calm him down so he's not so... afraid, most of the time.

 

[Godmother]

He will probably get better over time, even if he always squeaks a little when picked up. I cannot believe the change in my Caramel, who had lived alone almost all of her life. She was terrified of everything, screeching when any other rat came near to sniff her. When I put her down my shirt she was rigid with fear and hardly moved.

Over time, and with SQ's masterful intro to three other rats, she has changed a lot. She will never be as friendly as my Rowan girls, but she is doing OK.