Before starting flea treatment, take your rat to the vet. Your vet will be able to identify if your rat has fleas or if they have another type of skin parasite or irritant. They can also recommend treatment options and products to use and provide helpful advice on how to safely and effectively remove fleas from your rat and its environment. Be sure to tell your vet you think your rat has fleas. Some vets may want you to take precautionary actions before bringing in a possibly flea-infested animal. using flea medicated shampoo. Using your vet's recommended flea shampoo, bathe your rat. It is very important to leave the flea shampoo on your rat for about 10 minutes in order for the medication to take effect.  Lather your rat with flea shampoo out of the water so the shampoo isn't washed away. Try putting your rat on a towel as you lather them so they don't slip away or make a mess. Or simply hold your rat in your hand while you wait the allotted 10 mins as the shampoo treats your rat's fleas. Don't get shampoo in your rat's eyes, ears, and mouth. The shampoo is strongly medicated and can be toxic when ingested by your rat. So keep a constant eye on them as you wait the allotted time for the shampoo to work. Be sure to clean your rat's tail as well. Use a toothbrush and lightly lather the shampoo onto their tail. Be careful not to scrub too hard as a rat's tail skin is easily damaged. Let your rat swim around in their bath to drown out the fleas. This can be done at any time to remove dead or live fleas from your rat. This is a great tool to use especially if your rat can't handle strong medication due to illness. Comb your rat with a flea comb and then place your comb in hot, soapy water to kill the fleas.  This method may take a considerable amount of time before you are able to rid your rat of all fleas. This does not help with flea bite sensitivity and does not treat your rat for skin irritation problems. Flea shampoos not only kill fleas but also helps to sooth your rat's skin. This method requires you to be able to handle your rat, especially if you don't have a trained rat. You may need to restrain or keep you rat still while combing by making a claw-like gesture with your hand to keep your rat in place. Hold your rat by placing your thumb and ring finger around its body right under its front legs, while having your rat's neck rest between your index finger and middle finger. Don't squeeze too hard or you'll restrict its airway. You can attempt the same holding method with your rat on its back. Your vet can recommend topical flea treatments like sprays or once-a-month topical insecticides to be applied to your rat. These are often applied to a spot on your rat's body where they can't lick or ingest the medication. The medication seeps into your rat's bloodstream to protect it from future parasites. This is done as a preventative measure rather than a cure for fleas.  Never use flea treatment products without consulting your veterinarian first. Never let your rat ingest flea treatments.
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One-sentence summary -- Take your rat to your veterinarian. Bathe your rat Use a flea comb to remove fleas. Give topical flea treatments to your rat.


Making sure there are good seals on the doors and windows leads to huge savings in energy costs. Insulation keeps your home from leaking cool air-conditioned air during the summer and warm heated air during the winter.  Have a contractor inspect your home's insulation to determine whether it's efficient enough. Consider the attic, crawlspaces, basement, walls and ceiling. You may want to look into fitting your home with new insulation. Weather-strip your home by using caulk and weather strip in your doorways, windows and around window air conditioners. You can also purchase plastic sheeting to put over the windows during the winter. Heating water takes a lot of energy. It's not necessary to take cold showers, but being mindful of how much hot water you use, and how the water is being heated, can save a lot of electricity and money.  Make sure your water heater is insulated so that it isn't losing too much heat. Consider getting a water heater that doesn't run on a continuously lit pilot light. Take showers instead of baths. Baths use a lot more water than showers. Take shorter showers. Spending 20 minutes in the shower uses up a lot of electricity. Sometimes it's unavoidable to use the air conditioner, but there's no reason to have it on from the beginning of spring to the end of the summer without ever turning it off. Find other ways to cool yourself down when possible. You save a lot of energy and money by keeping your home a few degrees lower than normal during the winter. If you get cold, put on a sweater instead of turning up the thermostat.
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One-sentence summary -- Insulate your home. Use less hot water. Use the air conditioner less frequently. Keep your home at a low temperature during the winter.


Federal antidiscrimination law applies to those employers who employ 15 or more employees (20 or more employees for age discrimination claims). If your employer is covered, then you can report a hostile work environment to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  If your employer is not covered by federal law, then you may report to your state’s equivalent agency. If your employer is covered by both state and federal laws, then you can choose which agency to file your charge with. If your state's laws are more protective of employees than federal law, consider filing with your state agency. For example, California has more stringent workplace protections than federal law requires. If you live in California, you should consider filing a report with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. You should use the EEOC’s assessment tool at https://egov.eeoc.gov/eas/ to figure out which agency to file with. If you choose to report to the EEOC, then you can file a charge with any of its field offices. On the EEOC website there is a map of the 53 field offices around the country. You should contact the office nearest you. Some offices require appointments while others accept walk-ins. Call ahead of time and ask. Don’t wait to file. Generally, you have 180 days to file a charge with the EEOC. The deadline is extended if your state law provides a longer deadline. However, you shouldn’t wait too long. If the nearest field office is too far away for you to visit, then you can file a charge by writing a letter. Make sure that the letter includes the following information:  your name, address, and telephone number your employer’s name, address, and telephone number the number of employees employed there a short description of the events you believe were discriminatory when the events took place that a protected characteristic was the motivation for the discriminatory events your signature The exact process will vary from state to state. For example, in California, you must first file a “pre-complaint inquiry.” There are four different ways to do so:  Call 800-884-1684 (or 800-884-1684 if deaf or hard of hearing). Fill out and mail the Inquiry form to any Department of Fair Employment and Housing Office. Email a completed Inquiry form to contact.center@dfeh.ca.gov.
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One-sentence summary --
Determine which agency you will report to. File a charge with the EEOC. Write a letter to the EEOC. File a charge with your state administrative agency.