Dozens of animals killed in fire at Richardson reptile pet store

RICHARDSON, Texas - A small fire had a large impact on a Richardson pet store that specializes in reptiles.

Dozens of animals at the Serpentarium in Richardson died in the fire over the weekend.

North Texas rescue groups and customers are stepping in to take in the surviving animals. The owner says they can repair the store, but it’ll take one to two months. 

In the meantime, the reptiles who survived the fire will stay with foster families. 

Saturday just before 10:30 a.m., the Richardson Fire Department got a call for a fire at the store. Firefighters put it out quickly, but there was plenty of damage done.

"There’s a lot of heat lamps here, 50 +. But it could have been a heat lamp, could have been a heat pad, it could have been a timer, digital timer on the side, it could have been the wiring itself," said owner Robert Coral.

Roughly 50 animals died in fire. Coral was able to rescue the surviving animals. 

After Coral posted a video of the fire on Facebook, the community came to him. Rescue groups and loyal customers came in to help an animal in need." 

More than 30 animals will go to foster homes with people like 16-year-old Felix Keith. 

"I brought just a little tank just some hide so it can feel secure," he said "Obviously, I didn’t want to hold it in the car. I wanted it to feel safe." 

Keith is hoping to foster a leopard gecko. 

"It’s great to know that I’m not alone here, and there’s many other people that feel the same way I do about helping out," he said.

Others like Mela Singleton are part of local organizations willing to help. 

"It’s just tragic, and it made me kind of suck in air like ‘Oh, no!’ That’s just such a terrible thing to have happen," she said.

Singleton owns reptiles of her own, but she’s also with the non-profit organization, North Texas Wildlife Center, which rescues local injured and orphaned animals. 

"As a center, as one organization, we wanted to reach out to another organization and say hey we’re here if you need anything," she said.

Coral is thankful for everyone who stepped up to help. 

"It means everything. We’re so grateful to have these people," he said.

Coral says he plans to gut the inside of the store and start from scratch. The good news is that all the animals found foster homes until it’s safe for them to come back here.