The Skull As A Trophy By Troy Adams

[yobuck]

yes, i wanted to use the original skull for the full body mount. the taxidermist told me it couldnt be done any longer. so i had him have it cleaned for display on the mantle. pa. bear and taxidermist.

[270 Sender0]

Is it possible to buy these Beatles?

[CRaTxn]

The article says the skull is not bleached in "bleaching" i.e. whitening but does not say what chemical is used ??
The article says the skull is "degreased" but does not say what chemical or process is used ??
I too have tried this on bears,bucks and cats and run into: 1) teeth falling out 2) nasal sections breaking off / falling out 3) inconsistent color in differing sections of the skull - I ASS/U/ME that is a degreasing factor 4) not knowing how to connect the mandible back to the skull once the connecting soft tissue i.e. ligaments rot out.
Does the mentioned Q&A address these topics ? Maybe I thought this was a " how to " article since he opened with lamenting the cost of taxidermy.

[longrifle]

Hey guys, it's probably gonna sound strange but I've had really good luck just hanging the skull in a bucketful of water out in a nearby tree. For horned mounts try to make sure no part of the antlers is submerged, it WILL change the color. The water seems to soften the tissues well and, as it evaporates, the local bugs do the rest in stages. That eliminates some of the smell, just keep an eye on the water level frequently during hot weather! If necessary, as a final "cleaning" I just set it on an ant bed that so frequently otherwise annoy me! Some of the taxidermists I've seen do a real skull mount actually spray paint the finished product with a "Bone" color that really looked pretty good. I guess in the other, more expensive process they add a preformed skull to your horns?
As for the long term lasting appearance I have an 8 point that, aside from hitting the floor a couple of times during moves, still looks pretty good! When it needs a cleaning I wipe a rag with bleach over it and follow with a clean wet rag!

"Poor people have poor ways...."