Quiet rat

Question
Hello, I was hoping to have some advise on training my rat and also on her behaviour. Bonnie is about 5months old if that, and we've had her two months. We didn't realize how young she was until we met a 5 months old and she was tiny in comparison. She has recently been moved into a rather large cage to climb as I want her to have space to climb and run if my partner and i are out for the day. However, she seems to be very timid, hides in corners and hardly ever runs about unless scared, which is whenever anyone goes near her. She has calmed down a lot lately, but I am worried she is depressed or needs a partner. What do you think? I knew females should be kept in pairs unless they can have devout owners, which we are and she plays out a lot. But she won't come to her name or eat outside her cage. This is annoying in the sense of having previous rats and knowing she could run around the floor, but if she got under the sofa or bed she wouldn't come out. Any ideas on how to work on this? Sorry for the long email, just worried about my little girl.
Many thanks
jessie
ps checked for bleeding around nose area, none there. So no stress from movement of one cage to the other.
Xx

Answer
Hi

All rats should be kept in pairs, male or female no matter how devoted the owner is to the rat. THe owner cannot climb in the cage and sleep in the nest with the rat or play with him like other rats play and grooming would be a bit gross....LOL....you get my drift.  I would bring in a friend for her right away, but please refer to my website, sandyscrittercity.com for info on how to do proper quarantine for new rats.  Also, there is info on how to trust train her so she will be more social with you.  I say "trust" train because a rats biggest problem is the fact they dont trust their owner or any other humans. Just the fact she wont eat outside of her cage shows me that she doesnt trust her surroundings.  Please check out how to trust train her by reading up on it on my site, too.  Let me know how it goes. Refer to the page GETTING STARTED also so you can get an idea on how to get a special play area for her, too. This is vital for a rat to feel secure rather than be turned loose in a huge area with nothing that is really safe for her to play with.