# The Purple Seahorse



## Nekopan (Mar 18, 2010)

This is a pretty gross pet store in my area. They used to have a super tiny location but they recently moved next door, where they have at least 2x the amount of space. I took these pictures on Monday. Sorry for the poor quality, they were taken from my cell phone.

This is the "small animal" area. There are rats in the two top tanks, and the right and left on the middle row. The bottom contains a bunch of guinea pigs and the middle tank in the middle row had some teddy bear hamsters.










To the left of that picture is a wall full of reptiles and tarantulas, and to the right of the birds are some horrendously small cages that contain 2 golden retriever puppies, a shih tzu pup, a couple kittens, and a ferret. They also have a number of fish tanks that used to _reek_ in the old location, because they were barely ever cleaned.

Here is what's written on the males' tank:










And a quick shot of the boys:










Two girls:










Here is a tank with babies in it. 










Here's what they're fed. Dog food and sunflower seeds. There's also a baby in this tank, supposedly born October 31 but looks awfully big to be only 4 weeks old, especially for a pet store rat.










They breed their own rats in store. I asked to see a few of the breeders, since the majority are kept in the back. Here are two males, an agouti hooded and black varigated:










And a very sweet female, black berk:










This store is an _upgrade_ for these poor ratties. Before they only had three 10 gallon tanks and another one or two on the floor for their breeders. :-\


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

The black berk at the bottom is Rolo's mom.


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## Nekopan (Mar 18, 2010)

ema-leigh said:


> The black berk at the bottom is Rolo's mom.


I asked three separate employees and she was bred in-store.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Well thats a blatant lie on their part. :-\ ???

I am contacting them about it as we speak.


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## Nekopan (Mar 18, 2010)

ema-leigh said:


> Well thats a blatant lie on their part. :-\ ???


I don't really see why they would lie about that. I would believe it was a lie if they didn't all say the same thing.

Anyway, this thread isn't about Rolo or her mom. This is about a crappy pet store.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Umm well when I babysat your boys you gave me a tiny cage and seed mix. Lots of sources on the internet say dog food is an acceptable food for rats, although they know the pine is toxic as I've told them myself.


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## Nekopan (Mar 18, 2010)

ema-leigh said:


> Umm well when I babysat your boys you gave me a tiny cage and seed mix. Lots of sources on the internet say dog food is an acceptable food for rats, although they know the pine is toxic as I've told them myself.


 That cage is my travel cage and I usually don't carry more than 2 boys at a time in there. In that case, they were only in there for the length of time it took to bring them to you (because you said you had cages to put them in). Yes, I used to feed seed mix IN ADDITION to a lab block because I thought it was fine. You never mentioned anything about it and I haven't bought any seed mixes since then. You have been in my house and had every opportunity to come and see my cages if you so desired. Digitalangel has seen them and can back me up that I provide adequate care for my rats. 

However, I fail to see how this has anything to do with my thread and find it incredibly rude that you would even mention it.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Why would you even step foot in there Ema? I avoid all petstores if at all possible. For the danger to my rats and I won't give any pet store my commerce or even show that I might be interested.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I'm not saying you don't provide adequate care for them though. I did mention something about the seed mix and you said you were 'out of lab blocks' so feeding that. If you want to make any sort of change why don't you speak to the manager of the store instead of just posting pictures online? There are plenty of web pages that say dog food is a good food for rats, and when I went there wasn't any feed bowls in the cages so I hadn't mentioned about the dog food to them and what would be a better diet for them. But I've contacted the pet store and asked for written confirmation of whether or not they did breed those rats themselves and which version is a lie. 

I told you why I went in there, I was under the impression an agouti rat needed rescuing or would be going as snake food. I live in Westbank and this pet store is in Rutland, Kelowna. We stopped by that particular day as we were going to my parents house who lives close to the store. I don't see any harm in stopping by, esp when since spending the night at my parents it was much more than three hours before I had any sort of contact with my own rats. They were not in danger at all of anything.


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

With the exception of the pine bedding, I don't see anything _that_ bad. I mean the dog food is probably better for them than seed mixes, they have toys and look clean. All of them appear to be healthy weights and their prices are high enough to deter people who don't want them as pets. Yeah, the tanks are small, but they're meant as a temporary situation. It looks like most chain pet stores do.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I have to agree. I hate pet stores selling rodents, but honestly of all the pet stores I have seen that is one of the better ones.
You can't expect pet stores to really spend a lot of time and money making an adequate rat enclosure....as much as we all would love that to happen :/

And to get back on topic. I would would appreciate if no one would hijack others threads. it can quickly lead to arguments.


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## digitalangel (Apr 16, 2009)

Wow those pictures are WAY nicer then what they used to be, I've only ever been in there once to meet up with my friend. She worked there for a couple of years. They had no issue what so ever with the less desirable rats going for snake food. They are probably one of the most notorious pet stores in Kelowna for their practices and they aren't even in the main part of town! Nor are they are not even a big store. That says a lot about just how much negative word of mouth there is about them. 

I ended up with two rats from there that another friend "rescued" then couldn't keep. They are super unhealthy rats. I have heard a lot of stories of them sending home pregnant females because they just kept such poor track of males/females. Their prices seem high but you'll notice the dumbo marked at $20 is a classic sign of sell the pretty ones for more, and the ones that don't sell oh well there are snakes to feed.


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## Nekopan (Mar 18, 2010)

Like I said before, this place is a huge upgrade from their last location. One time I went in and there were a bunch of half-grown males playing with their water bottle because they had nothing else in the cage. And the smell! It was awful. 

I would hardly consider a single tube or hidey-hut a toy. These rats were all huddled in the corners of their tanks, or pressed up against the glass. I don't think that's a good indication of their "enriched lives". No, they don't look sick, but I bought a male from them (2 years ago) that died very suddenly at a year old. They breed indiscriminately and the "extras" are frozen for snake food.

I'm afraid I don't consider dog food a good food for rats. It was designed for dogs, not rats, and lacks some vital nutrients rats need such as Vitamin K. Not to mention a high quality dog food is high in protein (not good for rats) and a low quality dog food is not suitable to feed to anything. I doubt they even checked the protein and fat levels before they threw it in there, they probably just grabbed whatever they had open in the back.

I suppose the price is good for deterring those looking for snake food (but again, they sell rats for snake food as well) but I think a price tag of $15-$20 per rat is actually harmful - at that cost a lot of people would be reluctant to buy a pair or more.

The reason I don't try to educate them is that it wouldn't make a difference. These people are only out for the money. The shih tzu cage had $500, but it was crossed out and said "make us an offer" ... obviously because they were having trouble selling the poor little guy. 

Personally, I would buy from Petsmart before I went here (again). They at least treat their animals with a moderate amount of respect.


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## eluin (Jan 25, 2010)

Honestly, my PetsMart is about on par with what I'm seeing there. They feed seed mixes to the rats, provide them with paper based bedding, and have an igloo in each tank. No more, no less. Rats are kept alone or in groups depending on their ear set (dumbos and hairless have different SKU numbers and have to be shelved separately than standard ears, it is basic marketing) and my store doesn't stock females, only males. The tanks are small and it sucks that rats get sold that way, but I don't see anything wrong that I don't see in every other petstore I've been in.
You want to see bad, come visit the local owned shop near my work. I got my first 5 rats from her when I was still a feeder breeder (I've been reformed for almost a year now, so no flames please) and she had all of her rats in 20 gallon tanks. No separation of genders at all. When I asked for females, she said she'd have to go over and check to see if she had any left in her mixed tank. She kept breeders in the back, usually 2-3 to a 10 gallon tank. There would be one female nursing, one expecting, and a male in each. She just kept breeding back to back until she needed the rat for food. I never go back in there now. I can't stand to see the state of the poor ratties and I can't encourage her by giving her my custom. She has also tried to tell me that her rats are full sized by 6 weeks eating a special formula that she makes up herself. 1/3 of that forumla is alfalfa pellets, the other parts are seed mix and dog food. She is a font of wrong information.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Eluin said:


> Honestly, my PetsMart is about on par with what I'm seeing there. They feed seed mixes to the rats, provide them with paper based bedding, and have an igloo in each tank. No more, no less. Rats are kept alone or in groups depending on their ear set (dumbos and hairless have different SKU numbers and have to be shelved separately than standard ears, it is basic marketing) and my store doesn't stock females, only males. The tanks are small and it sucks that rats get sold that way, but I don't see anything wrong that I don't see in every other petstore I've been in.
> You want to see bad, come visit the local owned shop near my work. I got my first 5 rats from her when I was still a feeder breeder (I've been reformed for almost a year now, so no flames please) and she had all of her rats in 20 gallon tanks. No separation of genders at all. When I asked for females, she said she'd have to go over and check to see if she had any left in her mixed tank. She kept breeders in the back, usually 2-3 to a 10 gallon tank. There would be one female nursing, one expecting, and a male in each. She just kept breeding back to back until she needed the rat for food. I never go back in there now. I can't stand to see the state of the poor ratties and I can't encourage her by giving her my custom. She has also tried to tell me that her rats are full sized by 6 weeks eating a special formula that she makes up herself. 1/3 of that forumla is alfalfa pellets, the other parts are seed mix and dog food. She is a font of wrong information.


I do NOT advocate buying from petsmart at all, especially not animals from petsmart, but, how they are housed varies greatly depending on where you are. One of my local Petsmarts feeds lab blocks (I don't know what kind though), daily veggies (amazingly more than just carrots, a variety like peppers and zuchinni for example), has a wheel, hideouts, appropriate bedding (carefresh), chew toys albeit the cheapo ones, usually rats are kept together in at least pairs but no more than four to a tank that I've seen, and the tanks I am unsure of the size but I think 50 gal-the kind most places put guinea pigs in. They always look healthy as well.

You are right though, I too have sadly seen worse. The place is still pretty awful though.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

A girl who works there (Edit - name removed) just mentioned that they feed expired dog food and hamster mix :-\

No matter what the in store petsmart is like, all their rats come from mills or feeder breeders. So whatever the conditions of the store, the place they were born and raised was likely terrible. 

The manager is already aware of this thread, not sure if they will respond though.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

i've only been there once... bleeeeeecccck. don't ever want to have to go back. :-\

these are all the same tanks and junk that the total pet stores use as well. are they associated?


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Nope don't think so. Total pet is a larger chain one. And The Purple Sea Horse is privately owned by Mike Boback. They likely just both use the same manufacturer or something.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

ema-leigh said:


> A girl who works there (Edit - name removed) just mentioned that they feed expired dog food and hamster mix :-\
> 
> No matter what the in store petsmart is like, all their rats come from mills or feeder breeders. So whatever the conditions of the store, the place they were born and raised was likely terrible.
> 
> The manager is already aware of this thread, not sure if they will respond though.


lol that's why I put that I don't advocate buying from pet stores (the mills.)


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

smesyna said:


> ema-leigh said:
> 
> 
> > A girl who works there (Edit - name removed) just mentioned that they feed expired dog food and hamster mix :-\
> ...


Oh sorry I missed that lol


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

It's okay I just didn't want people to think that I was saying its okay if they treat them well


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

i don't like to revive old threads but hoooooly crap, i recently moved to kelowna and went to this place the other day... i didn't think it could be THAT bad... but it was by far the most disgusting pet store i've ever been in. here's the google review i wrote:

This store is quite disgusting. It's small, cramped, cluttered, and filthy. Boxes on shelves are covered in grime, the floor is damp and scummy, and the whole place absolutely reeks, even though they keep the door open during the day. The fish tanks are by far the most awful things I've ever seen - sick, dying, or dead fish in every single tank. There was a 6-inch arowana dead and half eaten in one last time I was in there. Half of the tanks were "NFS" because they were visibly infested with ich. I got some fish because they were on sale, and the employee accidentally netted a dead plecostomus instead!!! All of the fish died within the first week in quarantine and they would not give me my money back - instead, they gave me more ich infested fish. Unfortunately, their stock of aquarium equipment and prices aren't too bad, but their live animals are kept SO poorly that I will never, ever, buy from here again.

other things to mention: they had large lab puppies in aquariums, a parrot that would NOT stop screeching the whole time i was in there, and the small animal cages were barren and filthy. the poor ferrets had nothing but pine shavings and a beat up old pet bed to lay in. so horrible.  petsmart takes 1,000x better care of their animals than this place.


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## AlexP (Oct 26, 2011)

And just think, Jaguar, this is an improvement on the old store! At least at the time of the OP starting the thread.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Oh my god, that sounds dreadful, Jaguar. And the poor parrot- he's turned into a screamer.  A nearly unbreakable habit, obnoxious, and a deterrant for potential homes. There's a good chance he will start plucking soon, too.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

uuugh... if that's an improvement, i don't even want to know what it was like before.

and yeah, the parrot was awful. he was stuck in the middle of the fish area in a small cage (for an amazon)... screeching and demanding attention every time someone walked by. couldn't even hear the employee talking over him. and a big sign on his cage that said "don't stick your fingers in, i bite". don't think he was for sale, but wow. x_x


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

That's so upsetting. 

Birds just don't adapt, they're sensitive and that they are trying to keep him in a bad environmnt foorever just sickens me!


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