The Serpentarium- Lodi, Ca

Originally Posted by ronritzer

It seems pretty clear that Wes has a bias toward BGU or whatever they are called, and coversely, a bias against the Sperpetarium. It shows itself rather clearly and he appears to be putting a subjective spin on things to make the Seprentarium look bad. For example his post where he presents a very colored presentation of how he THINKS the whole transaction went down which based on presented evidence can only reflect his own imagination and prejudice and not the truth.

Hey ronnie, you may want to clean your glasses.

It seems pretty clear to ME that I put up a 'could have been' but never, that my ancient brain recalls, did I say THIS is what I think happened.

Now I could easily see things playing out as I suggested they might, but personally, I don't know what happened, who said what, or, in essence, what really transpired.

Neither do you.

As I HAVE stated, I don't think either of these guys has told the complete truth nor the complete story. One of them wants to cover his butt because he's in business and many think he's in that business because he's kind of a shady not so cool guy and the other one is simply a newb who got his knickers knotted too soon and went too far to garner sympathy.

Originally Posted by Skiploder

Those of us who live in California have heard the story about what happened to Bill Gillingham (the original owner of the Serpentarium) and his alleged treatment at the hands of Robert Coral.

I'm curious as I've seen similar statements made previously in this thread to the one above what is the rumor in regards to the business and it's change of hands? Since this thread has been based on hearsay would it really make a difference to hear one more unsubstantiated story? Assuming that it is that the story is as unsubstantiated as the previous statements. In either case it might be worth mentioning as perhaps others may take into account this new information even if there is no proof to back it up. So by all means those who have "heard" about the transfer of the business please add what you've heard.

For Clarification, my name is Bill Gillingham and I sold the Great Valley Serpentarium to Robert Coral back in the spring of 2009 for about $228,000. We drew up our own contract which was unsecured. I was to carry the loan. I had Robert's word this would work. I signed over to Robert the property on my own fearing any lawsuits he may encounter in the business (my mistake). Unfortunately all of this was caught up in his bankruptcy that I learned after the fact. Robert's mother was able to buy the business back from the State for $100,000. Robert was suppose to pay his mother $1500 per month. I asked Robert if he could pay me a little less of the difference of the original price, $100,000 at $500 per month. I volunteered for awhile taking care of the baby room making sure that the 800 plus baby snakes got a good start at life. I may have recieved a couple of payments then it stopped after I went into the hospital for a knee replacement. I heard Robert was not going to pay anymore because I told people I had lost the Serpentatium in his bankruptcy. I did receive some money from the bankruptcy settlement, $53,000. If Robert told anyone he is still paying me, I would like to see it.
I made an unfortunate mistake especially after running the business for nearly 20 years. I bred the False Water Cobra back in the mid 1980's, also bred the Redtail Green Rat, several species of Boiga and the first breeding of the Mandarin Ratsnake in the United States. Robert did'nt breed anything except possibly ball pythons until he took over my collection. I had all the breeders already bred and ready to lay, corns, kings, boas, pythons, false water cobras, rat snakes etc. Yes, I made a horrible and dumb mistake but I have forgiven Robert, that's just who I am.

Bill you are an icon to our community. The knowledge that you have gained and shared will be your legacy. We who know will never let anyone else take credit for your blood, sweat and tears. You and I had our brief moment of differences but you are MY friend and mentor. Thank you for all you have done for me, my shop and the hobby/ industry!

Bill, did Robert acknowledge his debt to you after the bankruptcy and pay on it after?

yes, and he made a couple of payments, at least one for sure.

Bill, I sent you a pm.

Originally Posted by wbgill

I made an unfortunate mistake especially after running the business for nearly 20 years. I bred the False Water Cobra back in the mid 1980's, also bred the Redtail Green Rat, several species of Boiga and the first breeding of the Mandarin Ratsnake in the United States. Robert did'nt breed anything except possibly ball pythons until he took over my collection. I had all the breeders already bred and ready to lay, corns, kings, boas, pythons, false water cobras, rat snakes etc. Yes, I made a horrible and dumb mistake but I have forgiven Robert, that's just who I am.

Were CB red-tailed green ratsnakes included in the stock that went with the sale of your business? Do you specifically recall him being aware of you having bred them? If so, it casts a bit of an unflattering light on the following statement:

Originally Posted by TheSerpentarium

Hello Brandon,
Firstly, the particular animal in question was never sold to you as a captive bred animal. I could be wrong, but I am not aware of anyone who has ever bred this species in captivity, anywhere(?).
Robert Coral
The Serpentarium
www.SnakeMuseum.com

No, I did not have any at that time, years earlier.

Bill ,regardless of how this played out ,I will always respect your accomplishments and your grace displayed ,having helped supply some of the very animals you did this magnificent work with .After all this had happened ,I ,as a supplier and customer have never stepped a foot in the former Great Valley Serpentarium ,and never will .


I do not know Robert personally ,but after his and Bill's dealings ,I personally made a choice and have followed it .Hope you're doing wel Billl ,maybe I will see you at a show .I think Bill's experience sheds some new light ,and will help others make an informed decision on whether to support a business or not .