Does anyone do skeleton articulation?

[AngelzFyre]

This was an article online from a taxidermist

http://www.hidetanning.net/SkullCleaning.html

 

[laughingdog]

i never usually have any trouble when just throw in bug bins as is, or soak to moisten if dried and dirty. could clean out with toothbrush.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Thanks guys! I guess I will take a tooth brush to them next weekend while I'm home.

There are a bunch of dead sparrows outside that flew into my work building's window. I'm so tempted to grab a few to practice skinning and preserving the skin, but I'm not sure my room mate would be all too sympathetic about me keeping dead birds in our freezer

I'm hoping there will be a couple ones still out there in decent shape when I leave work on Friday so I can take them home to work on. I would love to mount them, but I think I will just dry/disinfect in borax then set in the sun.

The skulls that I am trying to clean I would like to make lamps out of. Well, I guess not actually lamps, but I just want to mount them on a wooden base with a lightbulb underneath to give it an eerie glow. More of a Halloweenish thing, but we have western decor in our basement and I think it would look pretty neat down there. I wish I had access to a butcher who did goats with horns. Some of those skulls look even cooler! The goats these skulls were from were dehorned, but they have small scurs. I'm hoping to do this before I go back to college so I can stick one in my apartment window.

Yes, I have a very strange sense of humor!

 

[brittnyerw]

You can also use bleach to clean the bones. It gives very bright white sheen to the piece though; if that's what you're looking for then it works great. I usually leave mine yellowed because I like the older, weathered, look- but it really depends on the person. Best of luck.

 

[yinepu]

Bleach is horrible for the bones.. it will slowly erode them

Boiling is also a bad idea (just in case anyone wants to attempt it) as it causes chalking and flaking


It's better to macerate the bones or use dermestid beetles to remove the flesh.. once de-fleshed soak in warm water with a bit of detergent to remove the fat from inside the bones (can take months to do properly depending on the fat content). Yellowing is caused by fat left in the bones and if the fat content is too high it can result in greasy smelly bones which can mold and attract vermin...

to whiten: Once the bones have been degreased.. soak (or paint on) peroxide and, once soaked and removed from the peroxide, either set the bones out in the sun or in front of a heat source (peroxide on it's own won't whiten the bones.. it needs the heat to do it properly).

after whitening and the bones are good and dry I coat them with a Paraloid B-72 solution to add extra protection (the paraloid is available from museum supply stores)


if you prefer the yellow color I would still degrease and whiten .. then stain the bones so as to have a specimen that doesn't smell, grow mold or attract vermin

 

[JessyGii]

Does anyone have any idea how to clean a skull after it has been stripped of flesh? I have two goat skulls I'd like to set up with lighting but they are dirty from sitting around in the barn. I've read that the typical ways like bleach and boiling are not so good for the bone and since I want to use these for display, I don't want to ruin them. I'd like to get them as clean as possible and tea stain them. Any ideas?

Hydrogen peroxide

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Whoah, this is an old thread! Still an interest of mine though! I have not yet been able to articulate anything and the goats skulls are still sitting in the barn. Some day I will get to it!

I'm actually at vet school now and it's perfectly acceptable to want to learn this, which is weird because most people just give me a crazy look outside of the school! One of the guys who wrote a good number of anatomy books used in vet schools across the country works at my school and has an office across from the gross lab. I stopped in there one time and it is like a collector's dream. I keep meaning to stop in again and ask him about articulation. He is adorable and so nice. He also loves to talk about preparing specimens.

So I will be sure to update if I do get to try working on a skeleton of my own!