change in personality

Question
I have had two male rats for a few weeks and I do believe they are a few months old. Recently the youngest one had escaped his cage and played hide and go seek under the couch. When I finally caught him I put him back into the cage. A few days later when I go to play with them they seem to be scared of me or don't know who I am. Which I thought was odd because they were just fine with playing a couple days ago. The oldest had gone back to normal and playing but the youngest seems shy. He used to go running around the place and playing with his brother ( idk if they are related but i like to think they are :)
now all he does is either hide by me or under something. he wont move he will just lay there. Even when I try and play with him all he will do is sit in my hand. He is still eating and drinking but it seems he has became emotional. I'm worried about him.
help! thanks :)

Answer
It's hard to say.  It is possible he got a scare when he was out under the sofa and may take him a while to settle back in to his normal environment.  It's also possible that he may be sick.  Depending on what sickness rats have, they may continue to eat and drink.  It concerns me that you say "he will just lay there"...that is not normal for even the shyest rat...they are usually on the go when they are not eating or sleeping.  Their most active time is evening and night, so during those times, go and observe from far away where he can't see you if he lays around or if he is moving around and exploring or playing with his brother.  Do this several times during the evening.  If he is active when you're not there, it's possible he is just shy of you right now.  You will need to take your time with winning him back by being very gentle when you approach him and let him come to you (for food or snuggles)...try not to just reach in and pick him up, especially at first.  Another good way to win him over is during the day, when they are sleeping, gently reach in and rub and pet him on the head and around the ears.  He knows your smell so he'll know the comfort and snuggles he is getting is coming from you.  If you hear him start grinding his teeth (bruxing), you'll know he is happy and content with what you are doing.

However, if you observe that he consistently continues to be fairly motionless, I would suggest taking him to the vet, and as soon as possible.  Hopefully, you have a good exotic vet nearby...don't take him to just any vet as they could mid-diagnose him and the results could be disastrous.  If you don't know of a good vet, tell you nearest large city and I might be able to help.  Let me know what you see during your observations and what you decide to do.