help my rat isnt right

Question
I recently got a hairless rat. I already have another rat. The first rat is 11 weeks old and the hairless one is 4 months old. The younger rat is very active and willing to come to us and learn.The hairless one isn't.I've tried to introduce the two thinking that they would love to play together. The hairless one just falls asleep and isn't social at all with the younger one. He has really bad BM's that I attributed to being nerves. However they are not getting any better and everytime we pick him up we get runny poops on us. Also there is a clear gel that comes along with the poop. I'm not sure if the rat is still just nervous or if there is something really wrong with him. He sleeps alot. please help..

Thank you
Christina

Answer
 Hi, Christina.  Rats have different personalities just like people  and the hairless rat may simply be more shy and less active.  However, since he is having diarrhea and sleeps a lot it could be a sign of illness.  It really is impossible to say exactly what is going on without seeing him, but I would suggest taking him to a vet for an exam and bringing some of his feces with you if you can.  Rats can pick up internal parasites that can cause strange poops and diarrhea.  It's all right for rats to have the occasional loose stool but when they happen all the time it is often a sign of illness or stress.  Since you just got him it could be due to that, it depends how long ago that was.  Usually a healthy rat should calm down and get used to their environment within a week or two.  If it's been longer than that I think it's time to see the vet.  They will be able to test his feces for parasites and may be able to give you more information as to what is wrong.  An exam is usually around $30 and it would be worth it if he is not feeling well.

 I hope everything turns out, please let me know what happens!