You know, I had an allergic reaction to my two beautiful boy rats. When I held them and got those little scratches on my skin from their sharp nails, the scratches would welt up and swell and my skin would get pink and itchy too, but this is more common than you think. It is a mild allergic reaction and I would just live with the scratchy welts and pink skin because it was always temporary. I would just soap up my hands and forearms and wash up with hand soap every time I was done playing with my boys, as I read in one of my rat care books that this can ease up the irritation, if you wash the areas that welt up and get scratchy and red. The irritation would always last less than 5 minutes and then go away. It was not a big deal to put up with, since I loved my boys so much. I would have dealt with much worse before rehoming them.