kubiac Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 (edited) First, let me assure you that I am not a serial killer, nor do I wish to train up a pack of wee serial killers, however... Do any of you nature studiers have any good resources for preserving the skeletons of small animals? In the past week (a) a windstorm has blown the skull and spine (and fur and teeth) of a pocket gopher onto our driveway--I think it was killed by a hawk and eaten on the roof of the house next door, and (b) turning the compost revealed the skin and skeleton (and tiny ribs!) of a dead lizard. I kinda love nature stuff, and gross stuff (see above for solemn assurances I am not dangerous), and I'd love to keep these treasures on my nature shelf for the kiddo to explore in the years to come. But I'm not really sure how one removes the remaining soft tissue from a delicate skeleton without destroying it, and I'm scared to Google because I suspect search terms on this topic might lead me to some dark corners of the Interwebs. Is there a nice upstanding non-evil book I could read on this topic? Please and thank you in advance. Edited March 14, 2012 by kubiac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Hmmmmm. Hunting websites? "stuffing animals" website (the name escapes me right now lol!) and books? I live on a ranch and we've found all sorts of treasures (snake skin, eagle skull, bear skull) but that's totally by chance. I saw the eagle carcass half buried in snow one winter, made a not of the location ACTUALLY remembered it lol, and nature had done it's work Thing about that though is that a scavenger could move the body or tear the bones apart and you may never find it. I seem to recall my dh putting a skull on the roof for the birds and sun to pick clean/bleach but I believe it was pretty much done already. And if you live in town, this may not go over so well with the nighbors :lol:! I suspect my boys will be VERY into this as they get older, so I'll be watching for more posts! PS neither them nor I plan on murder either lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savmom Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 My mom & I collected deceased animals for skeletons in Texas years ago (almost 30 years ago :tongue_smilie:). We placed them into paper bags filled with salt and left them in a rubber-maid garbage can for several months (actually we forgot about them). I cannot remember why we did that, but they are still in pristine condition. Anyway, then she put a small drop of super glue at the base of each tooth and along the main joints. Oh, we also prayed them with Deft acrylic sealer. Do they still make that stuff? The opossum skeleton still has all its teeth. We glued it with the jaw open and everyone thinks it is a small dog or cat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfside Academy Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Well, as I recall from my forensic days, crock pots are a good option. Without going into too much detail, this was a preferred method for removing flesh. You could also use a bucket full of beetles. Much cheaper but definitely slower. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Well, as I recall from my forensic days, crock pots are a good option. Without going into too much detail, this was a preferred method for removing flesh. You could also use a bucket full of beetles. Much cheaper but definitely slower. :D Flesh eating beetles are slow-working, unless you keep tens of thousands of them. Bwahahaha! :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Boiling works, but might be hard on a smaller animal's skeleton. If it were warm, a plastic bag left out in the sun would let the maggots do the work for you, though you might not appreciate the smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I have several skeleton pieces I have collected over the years. We watched a opossum that we found dead beside our house decay and then collected the bones (took almost a full year from fresh death to no goo on the bones). For that one I soaked the bones in bleach for several days after all the gore was off them. Another time I killed a water mocassin and put it on a red ant hill, then soaked it in bleach, this was a much faster process....those little ants do great work. With the bleach, just make sure you rinse it real good after the soaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 If you have fire ants, put it on the ant bed and it will be cleaned in a couple of days or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I know that when there was a dead deer in our side field my dad covered it with lime. The flesh decayed pretty quickly and it took care of the smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Lime plus fire ants, check! :) Seriously, though, thank you guys for all the suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrself Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Idk about small boned animals, but ranchers put cow skulls that need cleaned in ponds for the turtles to do the work or spike them to a tree for the birds. Kinda gruesome, but feeding the birds is a good thing right? Nicole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Lime plus fire ants, check! :) Seriously, though, thank you guys for all the suggestions! Probably not at the same time though! Cooking the flesh off does work too but you want to use an old pot and it smells bad. If your library has the book The Amateur Naturalist it tells you how to deal with skeletons, including removing flesh and wiring them together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) If your library has the book The Amateur Naturalist it tells you how to deal with skeletons, including removing flesh and wiring them together. OMG, Gerald Durrell wrote a guidebook on nature study?! Ooodalally!! Ordered and thank you so much for the tip! Edited March 20, 2012 by kubiac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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