Snakes and Stones

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #341

An Orange Dream (+Het Clown), with some assorted stones.
The only stone I can name with certainty is the green agate from India in the center, the others are from central/west coast USA.

[Lord Sorril]

A lot happens in a few months-even a solar eclipse. I had to be in a meeting so I left my camera out to record it.
Without solar filters it doesn't really look like anything lol...it was only a partial eclipse in my area-so no luck there anway...
(25 minute time lapse-partial eclipse at halfway point-12 seconds in)


Took a break from photos for a while...now we are into the 2024 season and I have to catch up before the next wave of hatchlings!

Photo #342

A Pastel Mojave (+Het Hypo and VPI Axanthic) with a piece of Montana Agate.
This type of Agate is known for taking a super high shine, but, also being incredibly dense and taking an inordinate amount of time to tumble and polish.
I think this piece took about 8 months 24/7.

I've been using a Silver Snake Coin for proportional scale in 2023, I wanted something different for 2024. I found this (below) in the gravel underneath the breakwater at Hampton Beach, NH (while looking for unusual stones).
I'm surprised no one found it with a metal detector, but, it was in an odd spot.

It is about the same size as the snake coin I have been using in 2023.

Last year I had low clutch production/yields to due to toxic levels of arsenic in my water.
Judging by how my females look: This year it would seem that I am not going to have the same issue.


In other news: I went to the Manchester, NH New England Reptile Expo on Sunday 05MAY2024.
There was a graduation ceremony near the Expo and all the parking spots in the garage and surrounding areas were completely full by the time the expo started. Bad news for anyone who showed up a little late, but, probably fine for anyone who came after the ceremony was finished.
I only took a handful of photos...I will upload those when I get the chance.

[Bogertophis]

Wow, welcome "back"! Nice snake. I enjoyed the full eclipse where I live, it was strange & amazing to have darkness in the afternoon.

Nice find on that coin! Not a thing wrong with that snake coin either. "8 months" to polish a stone??? And here I thought I was patient... But it's gorgeous.

All the best with this years clutches. I take it you're testing your water now? How did you get rid of it?

[Lord Sorril]

Wow, welcome "back"! Nice snake. I enjoyed the full eclipse where I live, it was strange & amazing to have darkness in the afternoon.

Nice find on that coin! Not a thing wrong with that snake coin either. "8 months" to polish a stone??? And here I thought I was patient... But it's gorgeous.

All the best with this years clutches. I take it you're testing your water now? How did you get rid of it?

Thanks, I remember seeing a solar eclipse as a child and it was a full eclipse.

Yeah, the snake coin is fine, but, I wanted something different so I can quickly ID what year the picture is from.

8 months to polish a stone is a long time...that is why Montana agate is notorious.

As for my toxic well water: Originally the former owner of the house had given me a water test report which showed dangerously high arsenic levels. I had my own lab test and the results were 5X higher than the first lab had indicated (variability is common). I had a big water filtration system installed utilizing greensand media, and the water tested clean afterwards. I was told that if regenerated properly (recharged) the greensand would last about 4-8 years before needing to be replaced. Since we only have 2 people in our house: 8 years was more likely. It costs $200/arsenic test-so it is not something I check monthly.
-I noticed last year that my male Tiger Salamander was getting seriously bloated and sick. He was extremely pale and laying upside down exposed on top of the terrarium (he is usually in a tunnel). Since he is approaching 20 years old-I figured it was probably his time to go. Just in case I changed out all the coconut fiber substrate in his terrarium and switched over to bottled spring water. I poured some spring water on him twice daily-since he was paralyzed and I did not want him to dry out. From deaths door to a full recovery in just 3 weeks...it was amazing, but, also pretty sus. By that point I realized that 75% of my ball python females had either reabsorbed or were reabsorbing their follicles. I had the water tested, and after 4 years, the media was cutting the arsenic levels in half, but, in my case that *still* meant it was super toxic. I payed a few thousand dollars to have the media changed out and we are testing clean again with a happy tiger salamander and a pile of gravid bp females... It seems that 3 years is as far as I'm going to get without regular testing.

Sidenote: The plumber I hired to swap out the arsenic media did not wear any protective gear and emptied out the contaminated media in the bed of his enclosed truck with a hand shovel and a shop vac. I went up to him and suggested he may want to wear a facemask (at least), but, he wouldn't hear it. Found out later when I called his office that he went to the ER that night-horribly ill. He wasn't able to finish the additional work I had hired him for until several weeks later...Of course that could just be coincidental...

[Bogertophis]

...As for my toxic well water: Originally the former owner of the house had given me a water test report which showed dangerously high arsenic levels. I had my own lab test and the results were 5X higher than the first lab had indicated (variability is common). I had a big water filtration system installed utilizing greensand media, and the water tested clean afterwards. I was told that if regenerated properly (recharged) the greensand would last about 4-8 years before needing to be replaced. Since we only have 2 people in our house: 8 years was more likely. It costs $200/arsenic test-so it is not something I check monthly.
-I noticed last year that my male Tiger Salamander was getting seriously bloated and sick. He was extremely pale and laying upside down exposed on top of the terrarium (he is usually in a tunnel). Since he is approaching 20 years old-I figured it was probably his time to go. Just in case I changed out all the coconut fiber substrate in his terrarium and switched over to bottled spring water. I poured some spring water on him twice daily-since he was paralyzed and I did not want him to dry out. From deaths door to a full recovery in just 3 weeks...it was amazing, but, also pretty sus. By that point I realized that 75% of my ball python females had either reabsorbed or were reabsorbing their follicles. I had the water tested, and after 4 years, the media was cutting the arsenic levels in half, but, in my case that *still* meant it was super toxic. I payed a few thousand dollars to have the media changed out and we are testing clean again with a happy tiger salamander and a pile of gravid bp females... It seems that 3 years is as far as I'm going to get without regular testing.

Sidenote: The plumber I hired to swap out the arsenic media did not wear any protective gear and emptied out the contaminated media in the bed of his enclosed truck with a hand shovel and a shop vac. I went up to him and suggested he may want to wear a facemask (at least), but, he wouldn't hear it. Found out later when I called his office that he went to the ER that night-horribly ill. He wasn't able to finish the additional work I had hired him for until several weeks later...Of course that could just be coincidental...

Wow, what a scary ordeal with your well water. I'm so glad your Tiger salamander didn't die & that your BP girls survived okay too, albeit without the usual productivity. Close call, I'd say. As for your plumber, you warned him & tried your best...I bet next time he'll take the hint to take protective measures...at least I hope so!

Rotten luck having water with so much contamination that you have to test every few years. I hope you knew before you bought the place- not a very good surprise, but at least you weren't without warning.

[Lord Sorril]

Wow, what a scary ordeal with your well water. I'm so glad your Tiger salamander didn't die & that your BP girls survived okay too, albeit without the usual productivity. Close call, I'd say. As for your plumber, you warned him & tried your best...I bet next time he'll take the hint to take protective measures...at least I hope so!

Rotten luck having water with so much contamination that you have to test every few years. I hope you knew before you bought the place- not a very good surprise, but at least you weren't without warning.

Yeah, the former owner of my house had given me the water report prior to purchase to explain why she had 1 gallon cannister filter on the kitchen sink...which for the level of arsenic in the water was laughably inadequate. Considering she was into 'spiritual healing' and 'metaphysics'--they didn't help her when she became so ill that she lost her job and had to sell the house. It was obvious to my gf and I that she had arsenic poisoning (pigment in her skin was splotchy).

Of course what you don't know can hurt you. My real estate agent mentioned off-hand that I might want to radon test the basement: 36 piC/L of radiation. With 1.4 being average and a score of 4 being considered actionable...36 is unreal-I had it tested twice to confirm the result. Usually a score that high is from a house on the edge of a lake where the radon gas under the lake spreads to the edges.
-In response I had a Radon ventilation system installed and the score dropped to 0.4. The radon ventilation fan had a three year warranty-and after 1 year it burned out...so I got a free fan, but, had to pay labor for the replacement. After 1 more year: That fan burnt out, and when I contacted the company for a replacement they said that the 3 year warranty only applied to the original ventilation fan and I would have to pay for the new fan and the reinstall, but, I would get a three year warranty on that one...ughhhh... In the meanwhile I had started raising my rodents for my snakes and I had built a custom ventilation system to exhaust the rising ammonia. Since mice stink really bad: I had to make the airflow out of my basement pretty significant. I measured the radon levels at chest height with my rodent ventilation system alone and it was a score of 3.7. Considering I don't sleep down there...and the overhead fans keep the radon from climbing out of the basement into the house-good enough...

[Bogertophis]

You've had quite an "adventure" with your house! All that arsenic & radon too! Sad about the former owner not taking it seriously enough.

Didn't know you're a "fellow mouse breeder" too- they sure can stink up a place...ventilation is essential.

[Lord Sorril]

You've had quite an "adventure" with your house! All that arsenic & radon too! Sad about the former owner not taking it seriously enough.

Didn't know you're a "fellow mouse breeder" too- they sure can stink up a place...ventilation is essential.

Yes, ventilation is essential with all the rodents-they all smell (even pygmy mice). I use Zeolite (Horse Stall Freshener) in the warmer months to cancel out some of the ammonia, but, it is no substitute. I keep my snake collection on the down-low and my neighbors have no idea why all the vultures in the area are constantly hanging out in my backyard. The scent of rodent ammonia to them must be like fresh baked apple pie to us...

[Bogertophis]

...my neighbors have no idea why all the vultures in the area are constantly hanging out in my backyard. The scent of rodent ammonia to them must be like fresh baked apple pie to us...

It just keeps getting better: Arsenic in the water, radon in the house, & surrounded by vultures? You couldn't even make that up...

And what's more, who could imagine, what with the extraordinary beauty you produce there in the form of snakes, polished stones & flowers.

I think you're right about the vultures being drawn to rodent "cologne" wafting on the wind..."like fresh baked apple pie to us"-

[Lord Sorril]

And what's more, who could imagine, what with the extraordinary beauty you produce there in the form of snakes, polished stones & flowers.

Yep, it's a dirty job, but, somebodies gotta do it.