I dont know what to do about my rats

Question
I have 3 rats, two of them I don't have a problem with, but the youngest is very nervious. She will eat food off my hand and smell my hand but runs as soon as i move it. Iv never been able to handle her as I cant get hold of her. Iv had them around 5 months now. Iv tried leaving my hand in the cage still, but she can't seem to get used to me. I managed to get her out the cage once but she got out my hand and ran, she got under some draws, took me hours to get her out. Its scared me abit about getting her out again incase I never get her back. Also I don't have a room they can run free in, the two tame ones just run around on my bed but im worried that this isn't enough exercise to keep them happy. I put toys on the bed but they seem to get bored after about 20 mins. Do you have any suggestions on how to make their play time more fun? also what can I do about my nervious rat. I feel so cruel keeping her in her cage all the time.

Answer
As far as play time there are a number of things you can do with even small space. Playing on the bed is a great idea and my rat love it. He goes under the covers and explored alot. You can give toys like empty boxes, oatmeal containers, jenga blocks, anything creative. Another things rats love is water. Fill the tub up with water (or sink) just enough to give them some to go under and place some large fish rocks or even lego blocks. They will play in the water and even dive to explore the items you place in it. Be creative and place all kinds of things (pennies, rocks, toys, ect).

As for your rat maybe this is her personality. If she is not wish to play she may just be a quiet reserved type and this is okay too. I included a great website that helps with training rats. I hope that this helps.


http://ratguide.com/care/behavior/training_playtime.php

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/careofrats/qt/ratstoys.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki-ZjqmgrRM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_jxfdohLh4