Hey folks, new rat parent here--

I adopted my little baby from my boyfriend, who had rats for many years. Long story short he had adopted the baby who was in a tough circumstance and moved him in with his older rats, who unfortunately soon died. They were all old and it was tragic timing. To help ease the transition a little bit I have been fostering the young baby who just moved in, and I'm probably going to keep him. But I am trying to get him more comfortable.

He was a feeder rat and so his first months of life were certainly quite difficult. He's already MUCH more social and trusting than he was when I first got him, when he would mostly hide from me and was too afraid to come near. Now he mostly trusts me, and he lets me pet him and he even likes to hop on and off my shoulder.

My problem is that I want him to get more comfortable outside his cage but he's very resistant to it. With the older rats, we very often would bring them onto the bed with us and let them run around. They never got into trouble that way and were easy to look after. This little baby gets totally spooked as soon as I bring him out of the cage. He's agile enough to climb the portable fence we would sometimes use as a playpen, and even if I sit with him on the floor or the bed I can tell he's very uncomfortable and afraid. One time he got very spooked and nearly ran off completely before I could catch him, I've never seen a rat move so fast.

Every day I sit with him right in front of the cage and play for a long time. He feels comfortable in his house. But is there anything I can do to get him used to being out? I try giving him treats when he's out but he's so frightened he doesn't even take them from me. Any ideas? Is he just learning still? Thanks! Here's a picture of my little nugget licking my face.

https://preview.redd.it/gkltpo9baen71.jpg?width=1160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42a4e3e887126807d8b74860b069bee6686e1758