Cleaning and preserving an animal skull?

[pillowtron]

I recently found a turtle skull, its in perfect condition and i'd like to keep it that way!

anyone know something that is good to clean it off with and keep it preserved? I dont want it to fall apart or anything...although maybe it would be best if i just let it alone and didnt use anything to clean it off?

if anyone knows anything about doing this please let me know!

 

[ray beez]

there is a couple different ways you can clean bones...i used to attempt to make bone jewelry out of chicken bones. i used hot water maceration method but the bones still came out either greasy or i over cooked them, also the chicken bones would break too easily i think this method doesnt work with bird bones. and probably has something to do with them being hollow,and from kfc lol, but anyways here are some online references i found for you

http://www.boneroom.com/faqs/maceration.pdf

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az1144.pdf

hope they help you out and you have better luck than i did

 

[L.C.]

well if there is no meat and it doesn't stink,shellack or clear coat it. if its stinkey i would guess a few minutes in bleach, and a thorough rinse would take care of that.

 

[pillowtron]

thanks you two. =D

 

[Mouse]

I found that just letting it set outside will let the brain rot outta the holes, the bugs will do the cleaning, and it won't get muc more damaged.

my dog's like to bring back deer parts from the woods when hunters dump stuff. I have a few skulls and a lot of teeth. between the dogs ad bugs they get cleaned on their own. nature does the job for ya.

 

[pillowtron]

nice! thank you mouse

i wish i had a pet that would bring me animal bones =[ haha

 

[ani x]

when cleaning bones that you want to last, dont boil them or put them in boiling water - it will leach the calcium out of them and they wont last very long. bleach will also weaken the bones - if yer lookin to whiten them, letting them sit in a weak hydrogen peroxide solution will work without damaging them.

as far as removing flesh, letting them sit outside to decompose works well. you can speed up the process by soaking them in warm water in a container (allowing some air to circulate) and adding soil - the bacteria in the soil will help break down the flesh and sinew faster in this environment.

 

[wildboy860]

my tells me when I bring home animal bones and other animal parts that they carry all kinds of diseases and stuff, but I don't really worry bout it? anyone else heard this or know of any know problems that they can cuase?

 

[pillowtron]

ecoli and salmonella (spelling?) can be on bones and could get you quite sick i think

 

[wildboy860]

well I guess none of that was on the bones I've discovered, cuz I've not gotten sick yet.

 

[pillowtron]

Yeah, i think that kind of stuff is only on certain bones. If you come in contact with it and you do get sick from it the symptoms show up within a few hours i think. so you're okay! haha

 

[iTch]

I frequently find bones from living by the tracks, and having a gaggle of chickens that occasionally die. I've found several ways of cleaning the bones such as the aforementioned bleach (in moderation), sun drying, boiling, or even burying for the worms and maggots to get at for a while. As far as preserving, I've found that if you put the bone in a small container and completely surround it in cornmeal it will take all the moisture out of it and any remaining brains or flesh will fall off. Best to leave it in for about a month. Also, you could try clear nail polish, it will preserve it to an extent, but make it look kinna shiny which I'm not too into.
The cornmeal and nail polish methods also work absolute wonders on things you wish to keep the flesh attached to, like bird's or chicken's feet, reptile hands or heads, etc. Hope this helped!

 

[halfawake]

I like hydrogen peroxide for getting the rest of flesh off. It works for tiny skulls that are really really delicate too. Get as much flesh off as possible and let it soak in the peroxide for a week or maybe less and then you should be able to scrape off the little bits that are left pretty easy. If you wanna preserve fleshy things with fur on it you can do a salt water solution it hardens it up nicely.

 

[Arapala]

Let nature do the work for you. NEVER USE HARSH CHEMICALS! If youre worried about getting sick just be careful and wear disposable rubber gloves. Let the bugs eat off as much of the flesh and guts as possible, they will come. Then, maceration with only water is the best technique. Put them in the sun if you want them to get more white.

 

[pigpen]

If you're somewhere with fire ants, they will strip shit to the bone faster than another other completely natural process that I'm aware of. Gently disturb the top of the hill with a stick and place whatever you have on top for faster results. Works really well for starfish and if hustling dead shit is your business, people love starfish.

 

[Arapala]

That's badass!! Wish I lived near some. Although i must say the flies here combined with beetles the process only takes about one month to two months. Not that long but still a harvest in a sense. Maybe ill try near a large ant hill here. I once stumbled across an ant colony with a master home base literally four foot tall and ten foot wide. It was fucked up! Wish i would have thought of that when i had access to it. Found it after we gave up on this letter boxing trip, and ended up wandering into the woods behind a grave yard. Maybe they were getting into the coffins :X