The Purple Seahorse Pet Store

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The Purple Seahorse Pet Store 5-590 Hwy 33, Kelowna BC

Happy Family dayyyyy!!!!Store hours; 11:00-4:00. It’ll be just me and Oma today.  Yea, I totally took my family camping ...
17/02/2025

Happy Family dayyyyy!!!!
Store hours; 11:00-4:00. It’ll be just me and Oma today.

Yea, I totally took my family camping this weekend hahaha. My partner was supportive enough to let me trade a romantic valentines dinner for hot dogs and candy around a fire. My six year old daughter was brave enough to endure the negative temperatures so we could enjoy a movie night under the stars. The boxers found themselves and the diesel heater lol. We watched Sonic 3, Secret Life of Pets 2, and Puss in boots while it snowed. Our own little drive in 🥰

Whatever way of celebrating your loved ones you choose; make it an awesome one. Life’s short, make those memories while we can. Happy Family day from your friends over at the Seahorse.

You may have noticed some changes at the Seahorse these last few weeks. With a new year and new opportunities at hand we...
13/02/2025

You may have noticed some changes at the Seahorse these last few weeks. With a new year and new opportunities at hand we’re expanding in a lot of areas and trying to step our animal care game up.

First off, new freezer for the frozen feeders! Thank you so much for your support; in the last year or so we have almost doubled sales in frozen feeders! So, we’ve added an additional freezer strictly for frozen feeders. You know I had to make a custom sign for the top 🤣. Friendly reminder every Friday is 10% off all frozen feeders (this entire freezer)

Feeding the animals we care for can be a hard one. The industry/ my accountant tells me to use the cheapest foods possible and to keep costs low. The grocery store tells me it’s $10 for a head of lettuce now lol. In an effort to keep costs low but our little critters happy and healthy we were using three aero gardens. Unfortunately they still can’t keep up to the demand so I’ve installed an aeroponic live wall at my house. This is still the early stages but all the seeds have already sprouted! There’s goldfish in the bottom section who p**p and feed the plants to grow in a controlled hydroponic environment. It’s setup with RODI on an auto top off and plant lights running 16 hours a day. There’s an aquarium controller to monitor the ph and to feed the appropriate amount to the fish and plants. Yes plants need food too. So funny enough; the feeder goldfish from the Seahorse are feeding the plants to feed the reptiles and small animals were rehoming. How awesome is nature lol.

Next we have the addition of O2 in our fish bags. The amount of out of town customers we have is increasing weekly. People traveling regularly from Prince George, Kamloops or Penticton. In an effort to help those who made the trip to see us were offing o2 in all the fish bags as a free value add. We appreciate you made the drive and took the time to see us so we wanna ensure your new loved ones make it home safely too. We offer foam coolers and o2 along with double walled insulated bags. So if you’re from out of town and we didn’t by chance ask, just let us know and we’ll make sure you’re equipped for the travel.

Otherwise, we’ve been busy as usual stocking shelves, finding new products to bring in like our grooming section or medications (yes, we now have tick meds, natural dewormers and so on for those furry little explorers of ours).

We appreciate all the feedback and support, it’s allowed us to grow with the community and offer products relative to our customers. 2025 is off to a great start and we humbly appreciate the opportunity to still be here supporting you and your loved ones 🐶. From tails to scales we love them all and look forward to seeing more of you.

Suns just coming up now and the day is filled with opportunities. Let’s make it a great day 👊🏻 🐍

We had a rogue clownfish who decided she wants to be a bully all the other fish. Wreaking havoc over all the other inhab...
08/02/2025

We had a rogue clownfish who decided she wants to be a bully all the other fish. Wreaking havoc over all the other inhabitants but impossible to catch with a net from above (even harder in a 10’ tall aquarium). So, I threw on my fish suit and went in after her 😂. Took a bit of time but we successfully got her out 🎣

08/02/2025

This is how I get greeted by Gibby when I come home from work. He calls me over and we do the routine. This little guy is so cute 🥰

For those of you who are wondering he’s a Caique 🦜

A nice family wants to adopt a bearded dragon from us. We wanted to ensure the best home possible for little Lucifer so ...
05/02/2025

A nice family wants to adopt a bearded dragon from us. We wanted to ensure the best home possible for little Lucifer so we set up an 18”x36” enclosure for them. I used a wet saw to trim our RepTiles for that perfect fit! (Friendly reminder I cut custom tiles for anyone who purchases a RepTile for their enclosure)

Easy maintenance and low risk of bacterial growth. In our opinion this is a great way to keep your beardie happy and healthy for years to come while still ensuring the enclosure is looking the part 👌🏻

So this week it’s all about supporting Canada again eh? This is something that’s been on my mind all day. I wasn’t going...
04/02/2025

So this week it’s all about supporting Canada again eh? This is something that’s been on my mind all day. I wasn’t going to make this post but after multiple conversations I’ve decided to do it. Last week Finley and I repainted all the shelves for our dog food. See pics of sleepykins in her princess sleeping bag 😂. Figured it’s the start of the year and we were about to get some huge shipments in so while the store was empty we gave it a refresh. Side note thanks for everyone who put up with our shenanigans, I think it was worth it in the end.

So, through the time it took to redo the shelving I had multiple conversations about Canadian products that I recall quite vividly. One of which was a lady came in who frequents another locally owned pet food franchise. I won’t mention the name because I personally love them and think they’re awesome people, anyways, she gets her dog food there and she told me I need to bring it in and sell at my store. I looked up the food and it was an American product. I told her I love the food and it looks like great quality but we only support Canadian companies in our store. I told her the owners where she currently shops are great people and deserve her business but she should continue to support them, respectfully I won’t be bringing that food into my store. She was pretty upset by it but then we got into a conversation about how all our Canadian suppliers are shutting down and how drasctially the changes are taking effect by supporting a foreign economy. Anyways, she understood my side of things but you could see she was choked at me.

Years ago we had put up Canadian stickers all over the shelves that say buy local and support Canada and showing not just some, but ALL OF our products are Canadian. I repainted the shelves and after that conversation with the woman about dog food I asked everyone on Friday if I should put the red flags back up and literally every person said nobody cares about it what’s the point. So I didn’t put them back up…. Fast forward three days later and everyone on the internet is making a huge deal about supporting Canadian brands now 🤦🏼‍♂️

So, EVERY single bag of dog and cat food in this store is Canadian owned and manufactured. All of our meats except lamb are from Canada and raised without the use of hormones or medications. Our frozen foods come from either Armstrong or Abbotsford. Our main brands we focus on are located in the Fraser valley or Edmonton. All of our dog and cat collars and accessories and made by a family owned company in whistler BC (RC Pets is the boooommmbbbb). We support p**p bags and holders that are packaged in Vancouver by the nicest woman ever, along side her two kids and husband who actually live right here in Kelowna. Our cat nip is grown in Kelowna, then sold in bulk or made into cat pillows by my mom (she’s really good at sewing and loves cats). The gentleman who owns the cattle farm for our frozen dog treats maintains the Argus lawns in the back alley and I see him almost every Tuesday with his wife.

We buy our reptiles from local breeders, we meet them, we trust them, then we buy the animals. This also includes the highest level of after care possible if needed. I go to the reptile expos to meet breeders instead of ordering them off the (substantially cheaper) suppliers online. Most of our fish stock come from either Kamloops, Surrey or Aldergrove and I’ve even met most of their families.. We regularly buy and trade fish or plants from local breeders to support the local fish community in both sales and breeding. Our crickets and frozen feeders (mice, rats, chicks etc) are all from Kamloops, Armstrong or right here in Kelowna. The fish food we sell is one of the cleanest best foods I’ve used and it’s made in Vernon. Legit, the shrimp come from Okanagan lake and the company employs about thirty local people to manufacture the fish food. I even personally packaged and sealed a good number of the fish food bags on the shelf because they were busy so I helped them out.

Every product in our store was purchased in Canada through a Canadian owned supplier, most of which are legitimate family owned businesses who we have a personal relationship with. We use a local shipping company that puts animals in the cab for the drive instead of leaving them in the back of the truck. I went for a continental breakfast the other day with my dog food delivery driver at his hotel at 5:30am lol. The lady at the front totally thought we were an item 🤣 Free breakfast doe 👌🏻 (true story)

Anyways, I guess at the end of this whole post I just want everyone to know that we are the oldest family owned pet store in BC, Canadian supporters and we only buy from Canada. We don’t import anything from the states and everything in our store is from a Canadian Supplier or made locally. We are a Rutland family owned business who buys from other Canadian family owned businesses and we always will be 🙂

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the support over the last 54 years ❤️.

Your friend,

Kai

Morning snuggles 🥰
28/01/2025

Morning snuggles 🥰

I have a customer who asked if we could help her with shortening a fish tank stand.  She’s having medical issues with he...
24/01/2025

I have a customer who asked if we could help her with shortening a fish tank stand. She’s having medical issues with her shoulder and can’t raise her arm past shoulder height anymore (isn’t aging awesome?!?). Fish tanks are one of her favorite past times but with the height of the tank it made it difficult for her to work on. Seemed like a reasonable request to me.

So I spent the night in the shop with the family and we took 12” off the height. I disassembled the stand by labeling where each piece went, removing the staples first then gently prying the glue joints. After I removed 12” of length off every board I used a router to put in a rabbet joint along the top edge. The rabbet joint (not a rabbit joint 🚬🐇) is a simple grove joint designed to transfer the weight of the top panel safely to the ground through the supporting side structure. After they were all cut and routered we glued and joined, clamped then secured with finishing nails.

The doors were a little tricky as they’re built like a wine barrel with individual strips of wood. I wrapped them in tape first to hold all the pieces together. Then I removed the wood banding from the inside by removing the staples then glue. I cut 12” off the bottom and routered a 1/4” round edge to make it look original. I glued and clamped the banding then secured with “no see ‘em” finishing nails and removed the tape. Once the hinges and power bar were remounted I gave it a quick blast with some black paint and we were finally off to bed! 🥱
.Yes I have a “thing” for Volkswagens 🙈

I 3d printed a carbon fiber brine shrimp hatchery! This technology stuff is beyond me some days.. This was printed using...
22/01/2025

I 3d printed a carbon fiber brine shrimp hatchery!
This technology stuff is beyond me some days..

This was printed using a military green PETG carbon fiber filiment. Polyethylene terephthalate glycol, commonly known as PETG, is a thermoplastic polyester that provides significant chemical resistance and durability. PETG can be easily vacuumed and pressure-formed as well as heat-bent or printed thanks to its low forming temperatures.

Beardie update! Straight up, we’re having a blast. These dragons have come alive with personality and come so far in eve...
22/01/2025

Beardie update! Straight up, we’re having a blast. These dragons have come alive with personality and come so far in even just a couple short weeks. Everyone is putting on weight, enjoying the company of humans more, and showing higher levels of activity. Their p**ps have cleared up, are consistent and no longer look questionable. Even the smell is gone and their appetites are back!

Lindsay Lohan’s in her hot girl era. She loves her baths and her food. Omg does she love her baths and food lol. She will sit at the glass and stare at me until she has my attention, then she’ll run to her water dish and belly flop in it and stare at me some more until I give her a bath. It’s really nice to see Lindsay Lohan on her come up, putting on weight and focusing on her self again.

The siblings Lamia and Lucifer are no longer scared when I reach into the enclosure. They genuinely want to hang out with you now and they spend hours a day out of their enclosure. They love their greens and are both eating around twenty crickets a day! These two will make an amazing companion for someone with very little effort.

As for Lady Marmalade, well, she’s not too stoked on eating her greens but she’s making it work in a bind. She seems to prefer her super worms and the occasional Hornworm. Dads been hard on her to eat the proper diet though and she’s fighting me on it. We are however winning the battle. Tough love is all it takes. She prefers her clean living space and appreciates alone time as much as she likes being handled. Kind of a nice change up honestly. Never makes a mess of her food or water and keeps her messes contained. What a funny lady.

Ol’ Rusty? Oh, Rusty.. he’s in chill mode and there’s nothing’ you’re going to do about it. He could sit on your lap or in his terrarium and as long as you don’t expect him to do a lot of exercise then he’s happy as can be. He just chills and when he gets hot he finds shade, when he’s cold he finds sun. He eats when he feels like it and he’s happily living his best retirement. Super handleable and a loving critter, he just doesn’t care to be someone’s jester to keep them entertained.
Frankly, I feel this too..

So there’s the update on these five Beardies! They will be seeing Dr. Ellen over at Kelowna Veterinary Hospital on Friday for a follow up appointment and then hopefully we will slowly start to rehome them as we feel fit. It’s been a lot of work to care and feed for them but it’s been a pleasure and super rewarding. I think the whole family is really enjoying their company along with whoever pops by to say hi. What a fun experience this has been and a great reminder of why we do this every day.

Thanks everyone

Aquarium servicing technician required!  Yup, turns out we need some help. Rob has been doing an awesome job the last fe...
14/01/2025

Aquarium servicing technician required!

Yup, turns out we need some help. Rob has been doing an awesome job the last few years servicing aquariums in the Kelowna, west Kelowna and lake country area. However, he’s been trying to advance his career in secuirties and we want to support this decision. Over the past year I’ve taken on three of the larger saltwater tanks while he’s handled all the rest. I believe there’s about 30 of them in total we service together with two new clients added this year alone. Since his schooling has begun it’s been a little hard for everyone to stay on top of the tanks as well as we should be. He’s been great about burning the midnight oil and helping out the customers despite his busy schedule, but truthfully both he and I would like some help in maintaining aquariums to lighten most of our load.

This career would absolutely require knowledge on freshwater aquariums and the willingness to learn saltwater tanks. We would like to find a mature responsible individual with a reliable vehicle for transportation to and from clients houses. The hours are very flexible, we would need about 10 hours of your time every week currently with opportunity to grow. We are able to work those hours around your other obligations; most of our customers are very kind and just appreciate your time so they’re quite flexible on arrivals. If you’re fairly well versed with saltwater fish and wanting additional hours I could use a hand at the store as well, just an option..

It’s a fun career but it requires some thought and experience. Water leaks are a thing and you’ll need to avoid them lol. This career comes with support from both Rob and myself along with continuous training as jobs and the hobby evolve. We are insured for any damages while on site, but hopefully we don’t need to test that theory lol. The fish tanks you’ll be accountable for rage anywhere from a 10 gallon fake gas pump to a 2000 gallon saltwater reef display. All of which come with an opportunity to upgrade equipment or live stock and potential to design or build the tanks that best work for you and the animals. Creative talent is encouraged by all.

If you feel this might be a good fit for you, please come see me or contact me and let’s have a chat. It can be hard some days but it’s very rewarding most other days. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. All applications are welcomed.

Your friend,

Kai

Updates on our Beardies ❤️‍🩹So, I bet you’re wondering, what’s a f***l float?  Ok, maybe you didn’t walk through the fro...
11/01/2025

Updates on our Beardies ❤️‍🩹

So, I bet you’re wondering, what’s a f***l float?
Ok, maybe you didn’t walk through the front door of the Seahorse and directly ask “hey Kai what’s a f***l float?” But don’t pretend like now you don’t wanna know..

What actually is a f***l float?? No, I’m not talking when your neighbors kid has an accident in your swimming pool! I’m talking about the use of saltwater and buoyancy combined with science and technology to discover parasites and fend them off ⚔️. **It’s when you separate their p**p and inspect it for unwanted visitors 🦠💩.

When these Beardies came in their bowel movements left a distinct odor that seemed acidic. You could tell the color of their f***l matter was very dark and not consistent with regular dieting. We immediately quarantined them and made an appointment to see Dr Ellen over at Kelowna Veterinary Hospital. We did a full one over with the team today and we had a lot of fun actually. I thought I’d share our findings.

To do a f***l float one takes saltwater in a vial and mixes in a fresh sample of waste from the animal to be tested. When salt is added to water it increases the salinity, which in tern increases the boyancy. When the p**p sample is added to the saltwater and atomized, the waste sinks to the bottom while any potential contamination, parasites or viruses will float to the top because they have a higher specific gravity. The salinity, or specific gravity of the parasite is higher then that of the solution water so just like a swimmer in the Dead Sea, it just floats to the top. We then take that top surface layer and put it under a microscope. See image number four to view what an egg of a Pinworm looks like. So yup, def contaminated 😷.

We checked bones too as you can see. Most of them look pretty good. However, the youngins aren’t looking too great. Lamia and Lucifer (the two red Beardies) are brother and sister born of the same litter and have always been together. Their bones are fairly transparent in the X-ray which isn’t a good thing. This is likely a combination of improper diet and/or enclosure husbandry. So for example proper vitamin supplements along with calcium coating, or gut loading your crickets. The other common factor is a good quality UVB light fixture and correct temperatures. The UVB oddly don’t last long, you’d be surprised how frequently this is an issue and it’s required for the animal to process vitamins.

Two were dehydrated, lady Marmalade and Lindsay Lohan, and received a saline solution injection for their hydration. Rusty, well rusty just needs to loose some weight 😂. After his most recent bath and some stuck shed spray he’s already looking like a new man. Anyways, all of them are now on medication for the pinworm virus and all five are on a permanent prescription of having loving homes ❤️

I got home pretty late today but was able to set up a few tanks as temporary enclosures. They’re going to be quarantined for two weeks and then retreated just in case. After getting into their motels, pretty much everyone had a little snack. Lindsay Lohan had SO MANY CRICKETS. Some snack Lindsay 😒. Poor thing must have been starving. I made them a salad too just to balance everything out but what a little piglet she was (check out her belly in the last photo lol).

Looks like with a little care and attention these dragons will easily make a great companion for years to come. We appreciate all the help and support of Kelowna Veterinary Hospital and that of our supporters and community. My house is pretty fun right now not gonna lie..

On today’s episode of “We bought a zoo..” Beardie Bonkers!!  It’s no secret we take in a lot of critters and animals and...
10/01/2025

On today’s episode of “We bought a zoo..” Beardie Bonkers!! It’s no secret we take in a lot of critters and animals and try to find them new homes. It’s actually really sad especially among reptiles how frequently their basic needs are overlooked. It’s extremely common we see bearded dragons with a vitamin deficiency; specifically calcium. There is a large amount of people who aren’t capable of giving the proper husbandry and care to reptiles and small animals alike. These animals usually have a habit of finding their way to the Seahorse and we just plainly can’t turn a blind eye.

It all started with Ruben.. We were gifted a bearded dragon last week we named Ruben. She was passed between a few homes in a short time frame where she received sub standard care and her health has been compromised as a result. After giving our best attempts we made the decision to go see the experts over at Kelowna Veterinary hospital and they helped us make an educated decision on what’s best for her long term.

Many of you know I’m pretty hands on, so it was hard for the technicians to resist my help 😂! All prepped in my lead suit we were able to snap an awesome pic of the skeletal structure. What a good patient 🦎. Now for the interesting part. If you look at the bones in the xray, they should be a solid white instead of opaque or transparent. What this indicates to us is the level of calcium still remaining in the bones. In a lizard with a vitamin deficiency these bones will become increasingly transparent until they’re barely visible to the electromagnetic radiation. When an element like calcium isn’t abuntantly present in their diets, the body will still require these vitamins and pull them from wherever it can to stay functioning. In this case the calcium was taken from the bones and skeleton so the body could maintain basic functionality. This continues to happen until there is no longer a chance of recovery. If you look closely in the X-ray pic; fourth rib to the back on the drivers side is actually broken ❤️‍🩹. By asking an experts opinion (an actual vet not just me dressed in a lead vest) she was able to gauge the severity and we made the decision this critter is likely capable of making a full recovery and eventually living a long healthy life. So, Ruban will be coming home for some long term care, including gentle back massages she seems to enjoy, and to get her bones back to stardom. Carrie has graciously offered to take her home and give all the attention she requires. She will be kept as a pet and treated the way she deserves to be and hopefully in a few months we’ll be making up a post on her full recovery and find her a new home.

Now the lame part.. like I said this happens A LOT. So lo and behold I found five others that needed our assistance as well. I took these critters home last night and gave them all medicated baths, helped with some stuck shed and provided a nice home cooked meal with some vitamin additives. During bath time Odin was very helpful in babysitting the critters, even when Mrs. Daisy tried to make a break for it 🤣. He’s such a good co parent/ helper 🐶.

We have another vet visit today with the second batch and we’re hoping to get some awesome news! It’s not always a success story but I have to admit with Dr Ellen’s help we’ve managed to save so many small animals and reptiles from an unfortunate demise over the the last few years. We’ve become quite invested in helping them out and it makes this career choice much more rewarding then it already was. In 2024 alone, with the support of Kelowna Veternarian hospital, the Purple Seahorse was able to rescue and rehome 13 BEARDED DRAGONS!!! How awesome is that?!?

Huge shout out to my co workers who wear their hearts on their sleeves and to the support system we have in Kelowna to help these critters out. Lastly, huge thank you to you, the community!! Without your support and encouragement we wouldn’t be able to help these animals. Vet expenses arent cheap, nor is proper husbandry and lighting. When people donate old equipment they don’t use to us, guess where it goes 🤔. When you make a donation at the front with your change, guess where that goes?? When you share and comment on posts and create awareness, you guessed it, helps us rehome these fine animals! So give yourself a pat on the back too because we appreciate any and all the support.

If you made it to the end of this post I’m proud of you. Thanks for taking the time to read this lol. Now go make it an awesome day!!

05/01/2025

Hahahahaha omg I love birds 😆

Holiday hours: Sorry, but we’re closing at 4 today (the 31st), and we will be closed on New Years Day.  Regular hours af...
31/12/2024

Holiday hours: Sorry, but we’re closing at 4 today (the 31st), and we will be closed on New Years Day. Regular hours after that! I’m taking the girls camping but if it’s an emergency get at me and I’ll be at the store later in the day for animal care.

Something to look forward to? Some fun salty new additions at the seahorse! We have Tomini, blonde Naso, Scopus, Anthias, Domino Damsels, Wrasses of all types and many more 🐠

I also found myself some nice colonies so we’ll have some Dragon Soul Torch corals, along with Gold Hammers, Frogspawn and Zoa packs available on Friday! -Not today because camping lol.

Happy New Years to my friends and fam, thanks for making this a memorable year and all the support!! I’m very thankful and humbled by the opportunity to be your pet liaison. Looking forward to what animals the new year bring us 🙂

Finally a Christmas present worth getting excited over
27/12/2024

Finally a Christmas present worth getting excited over

Holiday hours:Dec 24th, 10:00 - 4:00pmDec 25th, Closed, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! 🎄 Dec 26th, 10:00 - 4:00pm
24/12/2024

Holiday hours:

Dec 24th, 10:00 - 4:00pm
Dec 25th, Closed, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! 🎄
Dec 26th, 10:00 - 4:00pm

😂
22/12/2024

😂

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Opening Hours

Monday 10:00 - 19:00
Tuesday 10:00 - 19:00
Wednesday 10:00 - 19:00
Thursday 10:00 - 19:00
Friday 10:00 - 19:00
Saturday 10:00 - 18:00
Sunday 10:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+12507637300

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