The 35th Annual International Herpetological Symposium kicked off in a big way, with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Smithsonian National Zoo!

Let me just warn those of you who have never ever been here, but plan to come one day: Traffic sucks. It took two hours to drive a mere 30 miles. Quite traumatizing. The zoo is huge, roads leading in and out and parking lots located at specific exhibits. For even the short time we were there, it was quite impressive!

When we finally arrived, we split up in several groups. Our guide took us first to the Japanese Giant Salamander (which was one of the two things I wanted to see here). We saw the Hellbender research lab and learned a bit about their conservation work.

When asked what else we wanted to see, Kim Foose chimed in with crocs. Off we went to see the Cubans and the Phillipine crocs and then joy of joys, we saw 3-week-old hatchling Cubans! OMG they are the cutest little babies in the world! Our last stop on the whirlwind tour was the Komodo, so very adorable and still one of my favorite animals to see anywhere.

Our tour was cut short because our car had to get back early for the IHS Ice Breaker prep. You can find my shots here, and watch for the Hellbender video coming shortly! There are a few photos posted after the bump.

As Jeff reported yesterday, Sean Bradley of Exotics By Nature is paralyzed from the waist down due to a fall. Close friend Tim Bailey is helping with Exotics By Nature and his girlfriend Rachel is holding down the family fort. Sean will undergo surgery on Friday for spinal fusion.

Like many of our members, Sean is a small business owner and does not have health insurance. He could definitely use a little help from his friends. A Chip In account has been established to help defray some of the upcoming medical costs. The family and his friends will be updating it as much as possible with information.

His fiance Rachel sent us this update:

> Sean Bradley, the owner of Exotics by Nature, had a life-changing accident on the night of July 4th. He had some temporary memory loss, he does not remember exactly what happened. The story as we have it right now is that Rachel (Sean's fiancée) was inside the house and Sean was on the back balcony (talking on the phone). We had just had a bad storm blow through and everything was very wet. Sean thinks he must have slipped on the wet boards and fell approximately 12 feet to the ground. The next thing he remembered was waking up on the ground and being in pain. He was able to crawl over to the building and beat on the wall loud enough for Rachel to hear it.

Sean was then transported to University Charity hospital in New Orleans. Once there, they determined that Sean fractured his spine twice, broke his sternum and a few ribs. There were no internal injuries. The doctors have said that Sean will be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. He is preparing for surgery on Friday the 13th. To have his spine fused back together. We do not know how long he will be hospitalized.

For those that don't know, this is not the first major downfall of the year. Sean and Rachel's son, Will, was born on Christmas day in 2011. Will passed away on January 4th. It has been a very tough year for Sean and Rachel, and they need all the support that we can provide. Rachel is pregnant again right now, and the baby is definitely one thing that is keeping them going right now.

Sean has many local friends, customers and employees that are helping to take care of his eggs, breeding, collection and hatchlings (Rachel has been coming home in the evenings and taking care of the cats, dogs and iguanas), so they will be able to hold the fort down until the Reptile Expert can return to his collection.

I spoke with Sean this morning and let me tell you, he is not giving up! Despite the pain he is in and the medications, he was his normal smart-arse self. He wanted to express how thankful he is for all the support that is already coming his way from the community and pass along how much it means to him. We will continue to keep you in the loop as we hear more.