I had to create a barrier preventing the boys from getting onto the bed and with my defenseless oldies...
Milo was much better about being picked up, he froze instead of struggled when I asked, then told him I was going to pick him up. He was a bit anxious, but settled for a bit in my arms.
He even dangled for a second...not happily but not completely stressed out like before.
His reward for being so good is to go onto the desk and bobble around. Unfortunately this also means the smells of the other rats will start working him up a bit
You can see he's still calm here
and here the fur is starting to go up, which can be a sign of stress or hormones or even territorialism.
He's starting to rake high up his sides, a sign of dominance and it also gets the gland in their hip going so he can rub and mark his area. At this point, I do a firm stroke as he goes by watching for reaction. If he whirls then he's a bit too bent out of shape, and I will just leave him alone or put him back if he's been out long enough. If he doesn't react much to me, then we keep going. I am very careful when he's near my hands, and remove them...as he could decide to bite down...so why give them a chance. He's actually calmed down again, and he's grooming with his fur down and 5 minutes ago he was crouched in front of the monitor while I was typing this post, bruxxing and boggling as I told him he was wonderful!!!
He will need a neuter still but at this point, its not a huge deal. He's not wacked out and constantly hormonal which really takes a toll on a rat's psyche
he also likes when I lean over and kiss him, he stops and waits for those.
If he gets scared, I stop what we're doing but don't necessarily retreat...just wait for him to relax.
I am VERY pleased with his progress!!