Snakes and Stones Pr. 2

[Lord Sorril]

For those interested: The embryo I attempted to salvage from Clutch #3 did not have fully functioning lungs.
When I disconnected it from the ChorioAllantoic Membrane (egg respiratory life-support) I noticed it struggling an hour later and promptly euthanized it.

In Other News:
My clutches #4 and #5 were laid within a day of each other.
Both clutches were maintained at the same regulated temperature 87-88F.
My Clutch #5 hatched out completely at Day 61 while my clutch #4 showed no signs of pipping.
I thought the temps. inside the egg bin for clutch #4 might be wonky....so I tested the eggs (temp gun) and they were all reading 87F.
It took 10 additional days of incubation time for my clutch #4 to pip.

I don't mind them being 'fashionably late', but, 10 extra days of cooking seems a bit much.

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #581

BP = Hidden Gene Woma/Yellowbelly
This bp looks a bit odd to me. It looks like the HGW pattern has been heavily reduced...the headstamp is a giveaway though...

Stone = Uncertain. It resembles Jasper, but has a 'waxy' feel.
For whatever reason this stone did not want to accept a polish and I was forced to finish it by hand after multiple failed attempts in a tumbler.

+Breeders Note:
I just hatched an entire clutch from parents Het Axanthic/Clown x Het Axanthic/Clown.
I produced 3 Clowns and NO AXANTHICS--Oooof!....I have another clutch upcoming with the same config...hopefully I do better on that one...

[Lord Sorril]

Clutch #20! (Special/Het Monsoon x Clown)


Most of my females have reabsorbed their follicles at this point. I still hold out hope that I might get one or two more clutches.

Next year I'm not relying on my Super Blade Male (with a 1/16 track record this year...So that will free up 16 breeder females for mating).

[Lord Sorril]

I managed to land a decent job recently. Figured I'd celebrate with a bit of rock shopping.
I handpicked the following stones (took me several hours).

Starting at Top Left:
Rainbow Sheen Obsidian (Mexico)
Lavender Quartz (Madagascar)
Tree Agate (India)
Smokey Quartz (Brazil)
Carnelian (Morocco)
Dark Smokey Quartz (Malawi)

[Homebody]

I managed to land a decent job recently.

Congratulations.

[Bogertophis]

Yes, I'll second that...Congratulations on the new job!

[Lord Sorril]

Congratulations.

Yes, I'll second that...Congratulations on the new job!

Thanks!
There is a lot of employment instability in my field right now. I cross my fingers and hope that it will be a viable long-term option.

Photo #582

BP = Ivory/Possible Het for HGW, Lesser, and Spider (in-shed for photo)
Stones = Turritella Agate (Wyoming, USA)
As I mentioned previously these aren't true Turritella fossils, these are Elimia tenera a type of freshwater snail trapped in brown chalcedony.
The rough stone I started with had an overabundance of fossil snails embedded and it made it extremely difficult to tumble and polish.

Breeders Note:
Also, I noticed the unusual 'Ivory' I produced last season seems less and less like a 'typical' Ivory over time.
The parents were: Leopard/Pastel/Het VPI Axanthic x Spider/Pastel/Het VPI Axanthic
The snake is patternless and is solid white (even as it grows). Most ivories have some sort of color or patterning (even if minimal).
Seems to be doing fine though...(quick photo below against an Ivory).

It will be interesting to proof breed in a few years.