Snakes and Stones

Photo #60

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...jrdvuwukot.jpg
Nephrite/Jade
This particular stone off-gases in my rock tumbler--if I don't 'burp' the barrel every few days....it will explode in my garage. Ask me how I know...
As for the snake: Don't let the light color head fool you, she is another Pastel Het for VPI Axanthic...:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

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Nephrite/Jade
This particular stone off-gases in my rock tumbler--if I don't 'burp' the barrel every few days....it will explode in my garage. Ask me how I know...
As for the snake: Don't let the light color head fool you, she is another Pastel Het for VPI Axanthic...:)

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I'll bite...how do you know? ;) (I've never heard of rocks that need burping! That's very interesting.)

I love both snakes and rocks. Lord Sorill said I could post one of mine :)
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...0086-878866730
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...0086-878866730
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...0086-878866730


https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca88...lYvFMOlSm_IcH8

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

I love both snakes and rocks. Lord Sorill said I could post one of mine :)

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That is an awesome photo!

I think you could do that one with your BEL too!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I'll bite...how do you know? ;) (I've never heard of rocks that need burping! That's very interesting.)

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You asked!

It is the middle of the night the day after Christmas (Pre-Corona)...I am exhausted from hopping from house to house visiting different relatives for dinner. I finally get to sleep after belly-aching from a variety of food intolerances (of which I ignore during the holidays). Everything is silent. Then:*BOOM* it sounds like a car crashes into the side of my house. I jump out of bed and trip on my blankets and hit the floor with my shoulder. My clock says 2:22AM (neat huh?). I immediately look out the window and see nothing. I make my way downstairs (now fully awake and pumped up with adrenaline). I still see no fires or wreckage out my windows. I get ready to go outside and I hit my garage door opener from the main house (my house is large-separate wings) and I don't hear the opener activate and nothing happens so I am a bit confused. I try to turn on my garage lights and nothing happens. I grab a flashlight, go into my garage in my bare feet and I immediately notice the floor is kinda wet. I shine the light on my feet and there is grey residue on the bottom of my feet. I go over to the GFI outlet reset and there is grey residue all over the outlet reset as well. I pop the reset, and the lights come on and I see filtered dim light as to my horror most of my garage and everything in it (including one side of my car) has been spray painted grey on the inside with an angular pattern emanating from one of my larger tumblers (which is now on the floor). There was less than one gallon of fluid in the barrel, but, it was enough to cover the floors, walls, and ceiling of every exposed surface for 1/2 my garage in the direction of the barrel lid. The remaining barrels were reactivated when I turned the circuit back on and they were actually bulging and shaking from the pressure build up. I immediately took them outside and opened them and the lids flew skyward and a grit slurry fountain shot upwards (think Mentos in grey Pepsi) as soon as I freed the bolt on top.

Anyhow, that is the story. Certain rocks/minerals have pressurized gas trapped inside (frequently volcanic origin); when they are tumbled and/or the temperature changes the gas is released and expands. Obsidian is notorious for redecorating many Rock Tumblers abodes. Nephrite/Jade are not tumbled frequently and I had read nothing about them having issues so I was totally not expecting this outcome...:)

Photo #61

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...gea117avft.jpg

You might be thinking this is another Pastel Het VPI Axanthic...however, the colors are washed out from the camera flash, she is actually a Pastel Orange Dream.

I thought it was interesting that Pastel hides the OD marker near the base of the tail.
Image below: Side by side comparison of OD vs. Pastel OD.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...dcveof8ndm.jpg

I love this thread so much! I think maybe I'll have to start my own photo thread once I have a snake, though of course I'd need to come up with a different gimmick.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

You asked!

It is the middle of the night the day after Christmas (Pre-Corona)...I am exhausted from hopping from house to house visiting different relatives for dinner. I finally get to sleep after belly-aching from a variety of food intolerances (of which I ignore during the holidays). Everything is silent. Then:*BOOM* it sounds like a car crashes into the side of my house. I jump out of bed and trip on my blankets and hit the floor with my shoulder. My clock says 2:22AM (neat huh?). I immediately look out the window and see nothing. I make my way downstairs (now fully awake and pumped up with adrenaline). I still see no fires or wreckage out my windows. I get ready to go outside and I hit my garage door opener from the main house (my house is large-separate wings) and I don't hear the opener activate and nothing happens so I am a bit confused. I try to turn on my garage lights and nothing happens. I grab a flashlight, go into my garage in my bare feet and I immediately notice the floor is kinda wet. I shine the light on my feet and there is grey residue on the bottom of my feet. I go over to the GFI outlet reset and there is grey residue all over the outlet reset as well. I pop the reset, and the lights come on and I see filtered dim light as to my horror most of my garage and everything in it (including one side of my car) has been spray painted grey on the inside with an angular pattern emanating from one of my larger tumblers (which is now on the floor). There was less than one gallon of fluid in the barrel, but, it was enough to cover the floors, walls, and ceiling of every exposed surface for 1/2 my garage in the direction of the barrel lid. The remaining barrels were reactivated when I turned the circuit back on and they were actually bulging and shaking from the pressure build up. I immediately took them outside and opened them and the lids flew skyward and a grit slurry fountain shot upwards (think Mentos in grey Pepsi) as soon as I freed the bolt on top.

Anyhow, that is the story. Certain rocks/minerals have pressurized gas trapped inside (frequently volcanic origin); when they are tumbled and/or the temperature changes the gas is released and expands. Obsidian is notorious for redecorating many Rock Tumblers abodes. Nephrite/Jade are not tumbled frequently and I had read nothing about them having issues so I was totally not expecting this outcome...:)

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I had NO idea this could happen! What a mess! :O But I guess it could have been worse too- at least you weren't standing next to it. I knew there was a good story just waiting...:D TKS!

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Originally Posted by hihit

I love this thread so much! I think maybe I'll have to start my own photo thread once I have a snake, though of course I'd need to come up with a different gimmick.

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Thanks! I'm glad you like them!

If you are looking for a gimmick then maybe if you collect something colorful you can use those for photos? I was experimenting for a while with different things including Mardi Gras Coins, Tarot Cards, and Fantasy Swords/Knives/Axes (which I collected when I was younger). I considered making my own Ball Python themed tarot deck for a while, but, meh...maybe in the future...:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I had NO idea this could happen! What a mess! :O But I guess it could have been worse too- at least you weren't standing next to it. I knew there was a good story just waiting...:D TKS!

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Yes, I was disappointed I hadn't noticed the issue earlier. In the back of my mind I know that grinding assorted unidentified minerals into dust while mixing them with water is a potentially disastrous combination...:)

Photo #62

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...d1ika7txng.jpg

Indian Tree agate comes in a wide variety of qualities from solid to porous. This piece pictured above is on the porous side.
Some people who tumble rocks are OCD about producing perfectly rounded and smooth specimens...they would have to tumble this piece down to the size of a jellybean.

Ball python in early shed for photo. :)

Your thread is massive. I have tried to read it all but may have missed something.
Have you ever tried to tumble fluorite or calcite.
I found them too delicate to get a good polish. They tended to keep cracking even by lowering the grit size.
Any advice?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

Your thread is massive. I have tried to read it all but may have missed something.
Have you ever tried to tumble fluorite or calcite.
I found them too delicate to get a good polish. They tended to keep cracking even by lowering the grit size.
Any advice?

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Thanks, this thread just got started.

I have tumbled fluorite, but, not calcite yet. Photo #6 is actually Mexican Fluorite in Quartz matrix--difficult to tumble due to the varying hardness (Mohs 4 Fluorite, Mohs 7 Quartz). All steps post shaping were done in my Vibratory tumbler (UV-18), vibe tumblers are relatively gentle on the stones.

I have larger pieces of Chinese fluorite, but, they have quartz banding in them. I don't trust that they would tumble well. I did borrow a friends $6000 diamond wheel cabbing machine to shape a few of them (shown below). Don't think I will ever convince my gf to let me get one of those machines...unless I win the lottery...even then, maybe not....:)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ljtjhkxj6q.jpg

If I have ever seen a Chinese dragon egg that would be one. Beautiful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Photo #63

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...aqqk6vgc59.jpg

I always thought it was misleading when people show only show their best specimens.
Some rocks are not destined for 'perfect' tumbles.
I endeavor to photograph all my efforts, good, bad, and ugly. :)

Photo #64

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...4tl0vmgqrf.jpg

I know I've had 'possible Het' Albino genes kicking around in the background of my population.
This was a pleasant surprise as I can finally pin the title of 100% Het on one pair. :)

Green/Yellow stones are Nephrite/Jade
Blue stones are Sodalite
Orangey stones are Tiger Jasper

Very nice indeed, the stones complement the albino python[emoji106][emoji106]

Sent from my ELS-NX9 using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #63

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...aqqk6vgc59.jpg

I always thought it was misleading when people show only show their best specimens.
Some rocks are not destined for 'perfect' tumbles.
I endeavor to photograph all my efforts, good, bad, and ugly. :)

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Not "perfect tumbles" but quite far from being ugly, IMO. :gj: I'd call them interesting with lots of personality.

And #64 is a delightful "color-salad" of stones & snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #64



I know I've had 'possible Het' Albino genes kicking around in the background of my population.
This was a pleasant surprise as I can finally pin the title of 100% Het on one pair. :)

Green/Yellow stones are Nephrite/Jade
Blue stones are Sodalite
Orangey stones are Tiger Jasper

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Awesome picture, keep them coming.

what snake is Photo #63 nice contrast

Quote:

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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

Very nice indeed, the stones complement the albino python

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Thank you Rich!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Not "perfect tumbles" but quite far from being ugly, IMO. :gj: I'd call them interesting with lots of personality.
And #64 is a delightful "color-salad" of stones & snake.

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Yes, I wouldn't call these ugly. I do have some stones I do consider 'ugly' and they do kill a few of my photos (Like #111).
'Color-salad' I do like that term...I'm going to steal it in the future! Thanks! ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

Awesome picture, keep them coming.
what snake is Photo #63 nice contrast

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Thanks, #63 is a Fire/100% Het Clown.
I'm not dedicated to Clown based morph projects, but, I like to keep the genes present because they will lighten colors and create interesting patterns. :)

Photo #65

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...zixbijhunc.jpg

Lavender Albino, I like the purplish hues. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #65

Lavender Albino, I like the purplish hues. :)

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Awesome snake, nice choice of colour for the stones too. Both subtle colours.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #65

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...zixbijhunc.jpg

Lavender Albino, I like the purplish hues. :)

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Love a lavender albino. Very nice pic!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for the compliments!
I do love the Lavender Albinos myself. I have a few projects ongoing with them.


Next up: Photo #66

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...552vh8vmm6.jpg

The Banded Amethyst (Rwanda) in this photo is probably the most expensive material per/lb. I have ever tumbled.
Fun fact: Amethyst will lose color over time when exposed to UV Light.

I realize I didn't include a coin for scale in this photo. The Lesser female is an adult.
Here is a mini-photo of some of these stones with a quarter for proportion. :)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...zf23rk5vev.jpg

LOve amethyst,one of my favorites.

You have inspired me to to do something similar. I wont copy though with my tumbled stones, but maybe take some pictures with use my large crystals.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

LOve amethyst,one of my favorites.

You have inspired me to to do something similar. I wont copy though with my tumbled stones, but maybe take some pictures with use my large crystals.

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Sounds interesting! I look forward to seeing the photos.

Side story: Last weekend I was incredibly tempted to buy a huge rainbow titanium coated quartz crystal (single piece), but, it was $150...too much...I could get 350lbs. of rodent (dog) food for that price. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Side story: Last weekend I was incredibly tempted to buy a huge rainbow titanium coated quartz crystal (single piece), but, it was $150...too much...I could get 350lbs. of rodent (dog) food for that price. ;)

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My big crystals are from ages ago, like you I would rather buy something for the snakes (or a snake) :D

Photo #67

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...bbpaczx5gs.jpg

Blue Lace Agate (Malawi)
Normally blue lace is a bit pricey, but, I got a good deal on this material.
Once I removed the rind on these agates: the surface of the stones were heavily pitted (doh!).
It was a tough call, but, I chose to leave some of the character of the stones intact rather than grind them into 'perfect' specimens.

Pattern and coloration on this snake is typical for Pastel Het Clown +/- a het recessive or two. :)

Photo #68

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ton205qirk.jpg

Nipomo Agate with Marcasite (California). Due to the varied hardness: It is tough to produce a nice tumbled piece.

Snake in the photo hatched 5 minutes prior (2020) and I snapped a few quick photos before placing this one back in the incubator. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #68

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ton205qirk.jpg

Nipomo Agate with Marcasite (California). Due to the varied hardness: It is tough to produce a nice tumbled piece.

Snake in the photo hatched 5 minutes prior (2020) and I snapped a few quick photos before placing this one back in the incubator. :)

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I like this one, sort of crispy mineral :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

I like this one, sort of crispy mineral :cool:

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It does look crispy, part of its charm. :)

This is another piece: Photo #69
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...g4e5dmsrcu.jpg
Orange Dream throws a lot of Iridescence in my photos, in shed, or out. :)

Closeup of the Marcasite formation in the center below:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/VqDfDNm.jpg

Photo #70
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...y6tnlgj6ti.jpg

Interesting color/pattern for a Lesser.
I have been attempting to get her to produce eggs for several seasons with no success. I am no amateur-I have lots of tricks.
She has rejected all my project orientated males (squabbling, teeth marks, and blood).
I have confirmed her gender multiple times.
After testing nearly all my males this season: she will only tolerate and lock with one of my Super Black Pastel Spiders (Photo #34).
I strongly suspect no eggs again this season.
Will try again next year exclusively with her preferred male...:)

Photo #71A

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...e3cijtlmxx.jpg
GHI/Fire and Red Corundum (Ruby) in Quartz matrix.
Corundum is supposedly outside the realm of tumbling due to the hardness (Mohs 9) being too close to the hardness of the grit, but, not in the case.
I do admit I have had many failed several attempts to tumble Red Corundum (Ruby) and Blue Corundum (Sapphire) in different crystallization formations. These remain pending.
Someone suggested that I put the stones under Black Light to actually confirm if they are rubies as they would fluoresce pink. Yep.

Photo #71B
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...n9hrtaqqal.jpg

Here is what the original material looked like:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...kwr4akoop1.jpg

:)

Wow that's so cool

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Beautiful- & very interesting. :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #71A

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...e3cijtlmxx.jpg
GHI/Fire and Red Corundum (Ruby) in Quartz matrix.
Corundum is supposedly outside the realm of tumbling due to the hardness (Mohs 9) being too close to the hardness of the grit, but, not in the case.
I do admit I have had many failed several attempts to tumble Red Corundum (Ruby) and Blue Corundum (Sapphire) in different crystallization formations. These remain pending.
Someone suggested that I put the stones under Black Light to actually confirm if they are rubies as they would fluoresce pink. Yep.

Photo #71B
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...n9hrtaqqal.jpg

Here is what the original material looked like:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...kwr4akoop1.jpg

:)

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You had to do the UV thing :rolleyes: You know how I love it. :love:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

Wow that's so cool

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Beautiful- & very interesting.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

You had to do the UV thing You know how I love it.

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Thank you all! :)

Photo #72

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5b3n7qmcqj.jpg

Nice work. Keep them coming :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

Nice work. Keep them coming :cool:

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You bet! :)

Photo #73
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ymq70jvisw.jpg
There is a story with this photo:
The dark stones I received in a box of mixed material from the SouthWest U.S.A., it was just one large 6lb. nodule.
It appeared to be a solid stone so I tumbled it 'as is' in its full size (using a rotary tumbler).
When I finished the polish process I took it out and examined it and it appeared to have a textured surface. I had failed to polish it.
I backed up the tumbling process to an early state and repeated it through polish with the same effect.
Discouraged: I smashed the stone into smaller pieces and then shaped them and polished them with my vibe tumbler (which is very effective at polishing).
The result was the same: textured surface, so I tossed the stones into a redo bucket and I noticed that they were mirroring the stones around them....They were polished!
The textured surface I was observing was embedded in the rock and dispersing the light, and the polish could only be seen at the correct angle.
Now I will always wonder if the large nodule I had polished in the beginning was perfect...and I had smashed it after months of work...:rolleyes:

https://content.presentermedia.com/f...l_md_wm_v2.gif :D

Photo #74

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...iudniuieh0.jpg

Jasper, USA origin (on right) and Madagascar (on left). :)

Wooo, that's colorful! :gj: Jasper is so cool.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #74

Jasper, USA origin (on right) and Madagascar (on left). :)

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That's really pretty. Also whats the morph? looks a bit enchi +

Snake? What snake? ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Wooo, that's colorful! :gj: Jasper is so cool.

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Thanks! There are (thousands) of types of Jasper. I have my work cut out for me...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

That's really pretty. Also whats the morph? looks a bit enchi +

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You definitely called it right!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spicey

Snake? What snake? ;)

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Enchi, 100% Het Albino. (3rd generation offspring)
Held back a lot of Enchi+'s last year. I like the patterning on the head in the 'Super' form, might try and work it into some of my more convoluted projects. :)

Photo #75

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...e4dlrw7ky5.jpg

Awesome, whats the rock? Calcite?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ascended

Awesome, whats the rock? Calcite?

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Blue/White Stones = Agate (Utah)
White/Translucent = Agate (Idaho)
Green = Jade/Nephrite (California)
Orange/Yellow = Chert (Massachusetts)
:)

Photo #76

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...vyk3nwgrd9.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #76

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Awesome as usual.
But Ok, No Idea what they are. Guess at the snake - anatharistic mojave maybe butter/pastel too? Mineral, you will have to educate me.