Need help with aggressive and nervous rats :[

Question
Hi, I just took in two male rats from someone who didn't take very good care of them. I moved them from a 10 gallon fish tank [that was filthy] to a large cage fit to house 4 adult males. The ones I took in are 4 months old. One, named Pinky, was apparently bought at a small local pet store and was handled often. The other, Brain, was bought at a larger store, and not handled. The owners didn't handle him much either since he wasn't people friendly, but they didn't mention if he ever bit or anything. He's bitten me twice. Once was when he was trying to escape from the tank and I had to scoop him back in, and the other my hand was in the cage and Pinky was smelling it and then Brain came over too so I decided to try and trust him and he sniffed for a few seconds and then bit. It wasn't that bad, it bled a little but only because I jumped and pulled mt hand out before he could bite harder. It seemed at first he was just going to smell me, and then he just bit. The first bite I know was out of fear and defense, but it still hurts. It was a clean cut and it bled through 2 band-aids. They are also both a little under weight. I let them have plenty of lab blocks, and a couple yogies. I gave them apple slices today and yesterday [I just got them yesterday] and this morning I made them scrambled egg whites. I didn't want to risk them chomping down on my fingers, I know how bad their eye sight is, and I knew they would be excited about a new and warm food, so I fed it to them off a spoon. Brain snatched pieces and ate them or put them with the rest of the food he stashes in the corner of the cage. Pinky ate it right off the spoon at first, but then would take a piece and walk over to the igloo and eat in there. Pinky will let me touch him, and will sniff and sometimes nip me, but Brain just bites, hard. Pinky looked fine yesterday, aside from some sneezing after being put in the new cage with different bedding. They both sneeze a little. But today Pinky seems less active, and has porhyrin around his eyes. He also won't let me pick him up. I really want to look him over, and both of them need time outside of the cage but I can't put my hand in there with the fear of Brain slashing up another finger. If they were both perfectly healthy I would just take baby steps, but I am concerned about Pinky. He also won't climb the ramps. I had to move the water bottle to the first floor, but I've only seen him drink out of it once or twice today, where as Brain drinks frequently. I need to check out Pinky, clean out the uneaten apple and eggs, and spot clean the bedding, but I can't get my hand in the cage unless Brain is on a higher level of the cage. And even then I only have a few seconds before he comes down to  check his food stash...
I just don't know what to do to get them to trust and not bite me. I read to put your hand in the cage without moving it until they sniff you, but he has no problem coming up to me and sniffing. But he bites! I am just at a loss.
-Kenya

[Btw, both males are intact.]

Answer
0Girl, I totally don't blame you for being cautious. Rat bites HURT!!! It's no picnic, for sure.

It sounds (to me) like Brain is having an issue with cage dominancy. It probably stems from the fact that he just plain ol' doesn't trust you any further than he could throw you (which isn't far). Working with biters is kinda tricky -- on one hand, you don't want them to know you're afraid of them, but on the other you want to keep all your digits. My best advice is to lure him out of the cage with treats (in a SAFE, contained, rat-proofed room!) and see if he continues his biting outside the cage. Dollars to donuts, he'll be too busy wondering where the heck he is, and he won't consider biting. At this point, inside or outside the cage, anytime you want, offer him treats when he walks up to you - don't give him the opportunity to bite, just hand him a treat and pull your hand back. If you're uncomfortable sticking your hands in there, offer it off the end of a spoon or fork. Only use the tastiest treats when you're working with them and save the rest of the goodies for his food dish. Little by little, he may come around.

Then again, he may decide to be stubborn. Time will tell. Just keep at it.

As far as Pinky is concerned, he's probably more stand-offy because he isn't feeling well. You have them on a good, safe bedding like aspen or hemp or recycled newspaper, right? No pine or cedar! And I'd offer him peeled, cubed orange (the peel is a carcinogenic) to try and boost his immune system. If he resists you handling him still in a couple days and he's still bad, you need to just bite the bullet and grab him so you can take him to the vet. It's better to piss him off and get him taken care of than it is to just let him suffer if he is in fact sick. Try distracting Brain with a yummy treat that's hard to dig at and stash while you scoop Pinky up.

Good luck!