rescued rat

Question
i recently rescued a 5 month old female feeder rat from a pet store.  while at the pet store, she had a litter of pups.  they were weaned and removed from her cage, about a month ago.  for the past month, she has been by herself. i finally decided to get her out of there, since she was alone and appeared very despondent. the pet store attendant picked her up out of the aquarium and handed her to me.  she was tense, but didn't try to bite.  instead, she clung to me.  
she appears healthy, a bit of intermittent sneezes here and there, but eyes, ears, nose are clear and fur/skin look good.  appetite and stools normal.

i have tried to pick her up, she is now in a cage with bars.  she clings to the bars and squeals. after two attempts, i have stopped trying to pick her up as i don't want to stress her. i offer bits of tasty treats from my finger. i stoke her head and cheeks and she closes her eyes and seems to tolerate the petting.

question:

1. is it normal for her to squeak when i pick her up (i hold around her waist to lift her up)?

2.  what is your opinion about the sneezing? it appears mild and she is the only rodent i have at home and i'll keep her solitary for 2-3 weeks before trying to find her a suitable cage mate.  i will take her to a vet for a check up regardless.  i understand that there are differing opinions about if/when to start antibiotics

Answer
Some rats are more vocal. Seems like this little one is one of them. I had a rat once that would eep and scream when I would pick him up. He would scream when his cagemate brushed up against him when he was eating, as if he was scolding him for getting near him while he was eating letting him know it was HIS food!  I used to think he was hurt somewhere and would give him a thorough exam looking for cuts, lumps, bumps, you name it.  Over the years he never stopped eeping and scolding us even up until the time he passed away at 3.5 years old. I think your little one is just vocal, maybe giving you a protest. Just ignore her, she may never change if this is something that is part of her personality.
As for sneezing, it could be due to the fact she lived in a tank, probably with less than healthy litter, such as pine, cedar or corn cob.  Alot of times these rats are cleaning out their nasal passages for a week or two after moving in to their new home.  If she is eating and acting lively etc...I would give her another week or so unless it gets worse.

Right now, you need to stop trying to pick her up and let her come to you.  Lay your clean washed hands palms up in her cage and allow her to sniff you, but dont force her out of the cage.  make a safe and secure play area using cardboard to construct a wall to use as a play pen and put her cage inside of it.  She needs a space of her own to come out to play in but needs to do it on her own.  Bond with her using food like baby food. Put some on your fingers (they seem to love sweet potatoes)let her lick it from your fingers....she will learn to trust you this way too.  Talk softly and slowly to her too.
Check out my site on how to make a play area for rats. This always works like a charm.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/gettingstarted.htm