Snakes and Stones

[Lord Sorril]

Well now you're just showing off...

Photo #89


Pictured: A small single gene Fire ball python and a nice chunk of petrified dinosaur bone.
Petrified dinosaur bone is always in high demand and is often made into various jewelry due to its attractive organic patterning.
Gem quality specimens with good color and patterning (like the one shown above) can carry a laughably high price tag to lapidary artists.
I happen to find this piece in a random box of petrified wood I bought off of Ebay--before tumbling and polish it was indistinguishable from pet. wood.

Side Story:
My gf and I were at an overpriced antiques consignment store recently and there was a box of random rocks in one consigners booth marked $2/each.
I pored over the box for a few minutes and picked out two mottled brown-red pieces and brought them to the front counter.
The woman at the register said "Hmmm...these are interesting rocks" (aka ugly) as she bagged them up for me. "Do you know what they are?"
'You bet!' I said grinning. 'These are dinosaur bones with some red hematite, probably from Utah'.
I thought she would laugh in disbelief (or make a 'bone' related joke), but instead her eyes immediately widened and then rapidly narrowed.
As I tried to take the bag away from her she held fast, a short tug of war ensued as I could see the wheels in her mind trying to void the sale.
She let go after 15 seconds (an eternity), and as we left her shoulders slumped and she stared blankly into the distance.
We did not even get the customary 'have a nice day' as we went out the door.
I thought it was amusing, especially since the two bones I bought are poor quality and only probably worth about $10...given the inflated prices in the store...I bet they would have tried to sell them for $200 each...

[nikkubus]

Hahaha, I bet she would have. Glad you managed to get out of there with them without too much trouble.

[richardhind1972]

That looks amazing, great find too bet she was week peed off

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[Bogertophis]

Moral of the story: never tell the vender what it is until it's firmly in your hands- not just paid for! Sweet finds!

[Lord Sorril]

I was watching a video on YouTube of a ball python breeder in Colorado: He mentioned that he has all the eggs for his 2021 breeding season laid already. Wow! I'm envious...
I live in Massachusetts. I will be collecting clutches May through September and picking out hatchlings from my incubators up to December.
Due to abnormally high temps in my area this year I'm already seeing my first 2021 pip before July...

[nikkubus]

I was watching a video on YouTube of a ball python breeder in Colorado: He mentioned that he has all the eggs for his 2021 breeding season laid already. Wow! I'm envious...
I live in Massachusetts. I will be collecting clutches May through September and picking out hatchlings from my incubators up to December.
Due to abnormally high temps in my area this year I'm already seeing my first 2021 pip before July...

What a cutie pie. No pips here yet but should be in a couple weeks. I've been expecting eggs from two females for a few days, they are taking their time. I will laugh if the female that has post-ov shed a week after them lays first.

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #90


I picked up these 'decorative' striped stones at Petco ages ago. I know they are common in some areas and even used in bulk for landscaping. They take a high polish, but, chip and fracture easily.
Many of these stones I tumbled contain deep perforated inclusions which needed to be worked out thus making them poor for lapidary use.

As for the snake: Sometimes I can make an educated guess which ball pythons are Het for a particular gene based on visible clues...not the Pastels from this particular clutch...lucky for me I know they are 100% Lavender Albino.

[Bogertophis]

Those are beautiful stones, even if not "highly-valued" for lapidary use. The snake's pretty nice too...

[Lord Sorril]

Those are beautiful stones, even if not "highly-valued" for lapidary use. The snake's pretty nice too...

Thanks!

Photo #91



Spider Black Pastel, Het Hypo.

The stone is interesting--I really liked the shape and the window so I made the decision to polish it without further adjustment.
I know a lot of people who tumble rocks that are obsessed with making all specimens round and flawlessly perfect...I am not cursed with such strict standards.

[nikkubus]

I think the odd shape gives it a lot of character and the way it slopes up to that white diamond is pretty cool.