Snakes and Stones

[Bogertophis]

The pagans seem to share your love of stones. You should consider converting.

It looks like an interesting fair, anyway, though I'd imagine that calling it a "pagan" event may have scared off more potential customers than it drew.

[Lord Sorril]

These are my favorites.

Cool!
I never focused on tumbling UV reactive stones, but, if I ever live long enough to finish tumbling the few tons of rocks I have sitting in my garage: I might look into it.

It looks like an interesting fair, anyway, though I'd imagine that calling it a "pagan" event may have scared off more potential customers than it drew.

Yeah...originally I thought it was a Pagans Motor Cycle Club Fair...and that would be...a different type of event... I dug around online a bit and saw that it was a more 'alternative lifestyle' venue (which does not bother me). I knew that there would be some nice hand-made artwork there-and some interesting crystals and mineral specimens-which was my primary interest.

My gf was very worried that everyone attending the Fair would be hardcore pagan: have goat skulls for hats, be carrying around snakes, and then try and trap us in a wickerman or something...but, no such luck.

I had a pagan coworker who I was friends with for years-pagans are probably the most relaxed 'religious' group I have ever dealt with.

Anyhow!
Photo #397:

Hypo/Pastel/66% Het VPI Axanthic ball python with a piece of agate collected just outside Reno, Nevada, USA.

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #398

Clown ball python with Beryl collected from New Hampshire, USA.
A lot of this beryl is highly unstable and chips and fractures at every stage.
Beryl probably wins my prize for Mohs 7.5 material with most runs through a vibe tumbler to finish.

Side Story: I had a large piece of Beryl sitting in my bedroom (pictured below).
I woke up one morning and the piece had split into three chunks. I hadn't touched it...it just broke apart...

[Lord Sorril]

I was asked if Beryl was more difficult to tumble than Topaz (Mohs 8).
I'm not familiar with all the different types of Topaz, but, relative to Imperial Topaz from Brazil: Beryl from NH is exponentially more challenging.
Even though topaz also has banded inclusions-they usually don't fracture. While you can frost the topaz edges if you polish them without enough cushioning...they are not nearly as prone to chipping.

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #399

Thunderegg with a Spider/Het Piebald+?.

Note: I have been seeing a pattern altering gene in my VPI Axanthic line floating around. I have not been selectively breeding it, but, I have now isolated the gene in a non-Axanthic line.
I suspect a relatively common incomplete dominant gene in particular, but, if someone can take a stab at IDing it a bit more reliably: That would be great. Any which way it is going to be proof bred...

[Lord Sorril]

The photo below marks the 400th ball python shown so far.

Photo #400

The stones are Mexican Fossil Rock and Dyed Crackle Quartz.
BP is a Pastel/Axanthic/Spider/66% Het Orange Ghost + ?

I'm not certain why some of my Axanthics are turning yellow (like the one shown above). The Axanthic gene should be canceling that out.
I hope the 'yellow' doesn't turn to brown. If so: I will have to selectively breed that out in the following generations.
Coincidentally (or not), my axanthics that are turning yellow all have Spider+the gene I have not identified yet-in combination.

Someone suggested the odd patterning was Spider/Pinstripe, and I think that would be a great guess on patterning alone.
I did sell my only pinstripe 10+ years ago-prior to breeding, and have not seen one in my collection since.

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #401

Pastel/Het Piebald with a piece of agate from the Mid-West, USA.

Note: I was thinking about getting the snake shown in Photo #400 tested by Rare Genetics Inc, however, I noticed their 30 panel of tests for $130 does not include the gene I suspect is present. I have the option to add it on to the 30 panel test for $25, or have it tested specifically individually for $50. I'm not confident enough in my guess to spend $50 on confirmation, and while I think $155 is a reasonable cost for genetic testing-I could also use that money to buy 310lbs. of rodent food which could sustain my entire sizeable collection for a few months.

Since I am on the topic of Rare Genetics Inc.-I noticed that they also test for 'Hypo'. I thought there were different types of Hypomelanism? Does this mean that all Hypomelanistic variants are at the same location on the chromosome? If so: I have one copy of the regular Hypo gene, and one copy of the Orange Ghost gene at the site and they told me 'Homozygous'...is that helpful?....Or could it be that Orange Ghost does not share the same allele as Hypo...so they currently do not test for Orange Ghost? If the weird yellow coloration and patterning in some of my VPI Axanthic Spider Pastels is a result of Heterozygous Orange Ghost-then I'm thinking that getting them tested by RGI is not going to be helpful.

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #402

GHI/Fire with Rubellite (Pink/Red Tourmaline in Quartz/Feldspar Matrix).
Rubellite is a difficult tumble due to the blast mining fractures, mohs hardness differences of the host rock, and the crystalline structure of tourmaline.
Of course it is not as difficult as actual Ruby (Red Corundum)-which I avoid now.
I had forgotten that I still had a large chunk of rough Corundum laying around (UV Photo below).

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #403

Black Agate from Madagascar with a Clown ball python.

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #404

Beryl from NH, and Lepidolite from Brazil.
Note: Lepidolite is often included in rock tumbling 'assorted stones' packs. It is a soft stone that requires special conditions to tumble/polish properly-so these 'assorted stone' groups are often setting people up to fail.

BP = Fire/Lesser