Having a pet is a wonderful thing, whether it be as a companion in a home or to instill a sense of responsibility to a child.
Typically, household pets that are available for purchase or adoption in the Swan Valley have been limited to cats and dogs.
For those interested in something a little more scaly than furry, business owners and engaged domestic partners Stu Coulthart and Shay Bresky have set up a new pet store in Swan River known as S&S Reptiles that features a wide variety of exotic or atypical pets of the generally more cold-blooded variety.
Walking through their brick-and-mortar location on Sixth Avenue North, you’ll see plenty of reptiles – such as bearded dragons, chameleons, geckos, monitors, skinks, snakes and tortoises – as well as some toads and frogs, fish and small mammals like pet rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils and the like. Or, if invertebrates pets are what you’re after, they even have a selection of tarantulas.
“I’ve had reptiles personally since I was about seven or eight years old,” said Coulthart. “I’ve had pretty much everything and anything that could fit in a 50-gallon tank or less, bearded dragons to geckos to salamanders and things like that.
“There was a lot of things that I couldn’t get when I was young. The world has really expanded so much in the reptile world. There’s probably about 240 species of reptiles that are available in Canada, whereas when I was young, you could probably only get about 50.”
Many times, Coulthart would have to pick up his reptile pets in Winnipeg, and he has gone as far as Edmonton to pick one up.
“My favourite was probably the bearded dragon, just for the simple fact that they are great for children, from age two all the way until you are in your 90s,” said Coulthart. “We have a two-year-old boy that absolutely loves them and has been with them, and our grandmas come in here and hold them.
“Bearded dragons are calm, not aggressive by any means and overall they are playful. They know who their owner is. I’ve seen videos of bearded dragons playing tug-of-war with a chihuahua. They are just an all-around great pet.”
The lifespan of a bearded dragon also ranges from seven to 11 years, depending on husbandry and environment.
The reason that Coulthart and Bresky got into selling reptiles as a business was because Bresky had her salon business Shay’s Shears out of their home and they found people were interested in the reptiles they had.
“We would have children that would come to get haircuts, screaming and crying,” said Coulthart. “I’d go get a bearded dragon to give to them and they would forget all about the haircut and would get interested in the bearded dragon.
“As customers would come in to get their hair done, our two boys would take out the bearded dragons and show the customers. Parents would wonder where we got them and told us we should start selling them.”
Once they started selling a few, the side business necessitated a new space and so both S&S Reptiles and Shay’s Shears both have a downtown Swan River location now, on the backside of Spruce Country Computer where Dr. Theodore used to have his clinic.
“We were in our home for about three or four months, and we looked at a couple of places before we got into here,” said Coulthart. “We got a decent price on this place and for the amount of room we need right now, it’s perfect.”
In addition to the various species of exotic pets, with new kinds seemingly arriving all the time and the access to order more, S&S Reptiles also has the support systems needed to set up a tank or habitat for your creature companions, as well as the selection of food and nutritional supplements to keep them comfortable and healthy.
“I really enjoy doing this as a hobby,” said Coulthart. “I’d like to eventually expand and do a breeding program and become a breeder for my own supply of reptiles. But, I want to give everybody some information that reptiles aren’t as icky and gross as what some people think they are. They are no different than having a small dog.
“I would like to acknowledge people in all the different species and temperaments that reptiles have. There’s some reptiles that are aggressive, just like a mistreated pit bull might be, but then there’s some like the bearded dragon that is as friendly as a poodle. Everyone has their hesitations and a lot of the time, reptiles are misunderstood for what they are.”
The added benefit of the new store is that access to pets such as these is normally limited for a town like Swan River.
“The closest places that have what I have is either Winnipeg or some places in Regina that might have some of it,” said Coulthart. “I do try to carry some of the more unique stuff that you wouldn’t find just walking into a pet store.
“And, with our area where we are, we have no pet stores or anything going up north as far as six hours, and four hours travelling east, west or south. I’m trying to serve a large area, so I like to try to keep some neat stuff so people can have a grasp on what different stuff is out there than what you might normally see in a PetSmart, for example.”
The standard of care for these animals isn’t necessarily more complicated or time-consuming than other pets of their size, once a habitat is set up. The important thing to remember is that – apart from the small mammals – everything is cold-blooded and needs a temperature controlled home to match their original environment.
“There are reptiles that I’ve considered getting in here that have a lot higher standards, needs and requirements,” said Coulthart. “But, for the most part, I try to keep it as simple as possible because we haven’t had a pet store or a store like this in our area for a long time and I know a lot of the people coming in are just beginners and first-time reptile owners, so I want to keep it as simple and easy for them as possible.”
S&S Reptiles is normally open from Tuesday-Saturday afternoons, or by appointment by calling Stu at 204·281·7298 or Shay at 204·281·2985. They are also available to contact at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or their online sites at ssreptiles.ca or facebook.com/swanriverreptiles.
Either of them will be willing to answer any questions you have and introduce you to the wonderful world of reptiles.