RICHARDSON, Texas — People lined up outside the back loading dock of Serpentarium on Tuesday evening, and all were there to help.
On Saturday morning, employees coming to open up the store found it filled with smoke. A fire that started around 6 a.m. had burned out the inside of the four-year-old Richardson reptile store.
“It’s unfortunate,” owner Robert Coral said. “It’s tragic. It’s a lot of work too.”
Coral said the heat from the flames caused some tanks to burst, and firefighters had to work around the animals.
Around 40 died along with 90% of the mice and other rodents they had as food.
“It was heartbreaking,” Coral said. “We had employees crying over it because they’re here every day tending and caring for these animals.”
The Richardson Fire Department said it’s still investigating the cause of the fire, but it’s believed to be electrical, likely from a heat lamp from one of the habitats.
Loyal customers along with reptile specialists like the Dallas Zoo and North Texas Reptile Rescue lined up to help foster.
“To lose them was just utterly heartbreaking,” North Texas Reptile Rescue vice president Aimee Zissa said. “Our president called and was like, 'Oh my gosh, did you hear about what happened at Serpentarium,' and I was like, ‘No what happened,' and as soon as we heard, we reached out.”
About 30 animals were fostered out. Coral is keeping the remainder of the animals, including scorpions, frogs and spiders at his warehouse in Bonham. The hope is the business can be back open in one to two months after it’s gutted and restored.
“We’ve had an overwhelming response from our customer base which is great,” Coral said.
“We will be there to support each other and that’s what we love about our reptile community,” Zissa said. “We love these animals, and we want the best for them.”
Coral has also started an online fundraising campaign to help pay his five employees while the store is shuttered.