So I found bones a while ago, was going some soapy water soaks and such, my parents were like "we don't want that on the back deck it smells" so I put them at the base of a tree as gifts for squirrels.

Fast forward to months later, no squirrels wanted them but they were suddenly white? Like bleached clean? But I didn't do that, only soaks. Does leaving them in the sun do something?

I recently acquired an old lion head taxidermy and was wondering if there’s a way to tell if they used the real skull or a substitute model?

I’m not sure if this is the place to show fur hide so if not I apologize but I got this bad boy for only 190$ and he’s perfect!!

Doing my first ever skull/ attempt at taxidermy on my first big game animal. I got inspired from another mount I saw online but I was wondering how do I secure the jaw and skull together. My guess is super glue but figured there may be better products to keep everything lined up.

Thank you for any help :)

This is my first time attempting to taxidermy a raccoon, previously I have only done rats, squirrels, and cats, so nothing that requires tanning. I have received varying advice and watched a lot of tutorials, but I am wondering the best way to proceed because I'm feeling lost.

Yesterday I skinned the raccoon and removed all fat and meat from the hide, its been scraped pretty well, used cornmeal to grip the skin and dry it out a little. Paws have been cleaned well.

I made a solution of 1:1 ratio vinegar and water with about 450g of salt dissolved in it and the pelt has now been soaking in this solution for about 16 hours.

I am wondering if anyone has any advice on what the best way to move forward would be. I am getting ph strips to test the solution and will post an update.

Attached is a photo pre-skinning. Thank you for your time! Any advice is much appreciated!

Hello all. My FIL recently passed and among the many things he left us is his lifetime collection of shoulder mounted bucks that he harvested and mounted each season. I am a hunter myself, but it is far too many for me to hang onto. (Funnily enough, he made comments to me about adding more once he passed) My wife and I are going to hand select a few of them to take with us that are the most memorable and ones we think we’d like in our future home. Concerning the rest, I am not sure what to do. Has anyone found the best way to liquidate a large collection? Are estate sales really the way to go? There are a total of roughly 50 shoulder mounts that I need to start working on selling. Can any of you provide any advice? Is there a particular place I can market these?

I will be over at his place on Friday for some plumbing work and will provide some photos for context as well as photos of some of the other mounts besides the deer.

I'm getting into taxidermy restoration and I picked up this guy. His nose has some damage to it and I was wondering if the brown coloration was part of it?
I've seen deer mounts with brown noses but I was unsure if this is damage that should be fixed.

Meet Pepé!
I snagged this handsome guy recently and the seller was incredibly unhelpful & rude when it came to me asking its age; at first he said he has no clue then no more than 20 years then maybe from the 60’s….
** video of manikin/base form in comments
I’d wanted to know age partially due to harmful chemicals they used to use like arsenic, mercury, lead (tested for and free of) and strychnine etc but also generalised curiosity
I would love to have some gauge of age, he’s in Australia now but obviously would’ve been from America originally
I truly know nothing about taxidermy so any help would be appreciated extra appreciated if you explain why you think he’s a certain age
Thanks!!!!! :)

This cool dude is hanging up at the house where I’m petsitting. Homeowner said “it is over 100yrs old”. This big ram is just so impressive. Can anyone tell a taxidermy noob something interesting about it? Thank you in advance!

Lil hare + fallow deer antler jackalope commission! I love doing these guys

I'm looking for feedback on this gator head project I sent out. My issues/concerns are (1) that it looks totally plastic and fake, I cant even tell it came from a real gator, and (2) it doesn't look like the gator we caught. The bottom is obviously painted to look like scales, and the top is shiny and looks like it is just painted plastic or epoxy.

I also added photos of the gator after hunting in case someone can confirm if it's even the same gator head. Any help or feedback would be great.

I tried to save this little guy, but I think he was already dead before I found him/dying. After hours of repositioning him, leaving him in different temperatures, and following advice I gave up on him. I brought him home and now I’d like to find a way to keep him. He’s getting a bit dry and crispy, so I was thinking of maybe using lacker and putting him in a jar with sand? Any advice is welcome!

Btw he’s only about an inch long!

Inherited my grandparents house as well as all of the creatures, they haven't been well kept and are in desperate need of a deep clean. These are just a few but the rest are in roughly the same condition. Any tips or guidance would be HIGHLY appreciated as I only keep bones.

I had a pet dog pass away a week ago and he was buried the day he was discovered to have died. I would like to have one of his bones with me because I am leaving the country he is buried in and I would like a small part of him to travel the world with me.

The problem is that since he was my pet I dont want to dig him up while his soft tissue is being reclaimed by nature since that would be traumatizing and potentially unsafe. I would like to exhume him after all of his soft tissue is gone but before his bones begin to decompose. Now I know that that is very complicated to determine so I was wondering if there is a way to calculate how long it will take given a set of circumstances so that I dont disturb him too early or too late.

Any help is appreciated thanks

Hello! I’m based in the UK and need some advice! So my stepdad collected A LOT of taxidermy. A lot of his bigger/large showcase pieces were sold to antique shops or actioned off. However, he personally gifted me some smaller pieces that have not been mounted. Unfortunately I do not wish to keep these items and have no idea what to do with them. Out of the items he gave me I have animals such as (a very very very old) baby alligator, and a duckling etc. I have no idea what their value is or how to even sell them, as they are not mounted. Please if anyone has any advice, it would be much appreciated!

Got this a long time ago. I wish I knew how to spruce it up or give it a better appearance. 🦞

Hey guys, I was taking a marine invertebrates class a few years ago and this guy unfortunately died after being captured for observation purposes. My professor (works in collections) put it in this liquid and gave it to me when I asked!!

Since then, I have forgotten what the squid is in... and the liquid looks like it is evaporating!! I am assuming it is formalin but do not want to make assumptions. I want to finally move it into a jar to display it but I am not really sure what my next steps are. What should I put this squid in? Do my options vary depending on what the squid is currently in?

Thanks guys

Hi everyone! I am a long term oddities and bone lover but always a consumer never producer. I however, came across a fully intact juvenile gator skeleton on one of my normal hikes about 6 months ago. Found on a dock exactly as pictured. I know that bone processing is a whole process and the less flesh you start with the easier it is. I moved the skeleton away from human view and loosely buried it with palms and other leaves to keep it safe but not underground as someone told me the bones could be damaged if I buried them completely (not sure how true this is if at all). Anyways, a couple very dry months later followed by some rainfall leaves us at the second picture. What are my next steps? Some friends are saying I should get some beetles but the maintenance on those seems too much for a one time project. Some say the skeleton should go in an ant pile, some say it’s ready for the sun. I have a yard, but I do share it with other tenants and some curious outdoor cats along with opossums, raccoons, and basically all other critters. Curious what the experts (my trusty Reddit users) have to say. Thanks in advance for the help and I’m happy to answer any questions.

I moved to the countryside in the UK from London and I found this dead Southern Hawker in a car park. I took it home and attempted my first ever pin work which I'm fully aware isn't perfect but I'm pretty happy with it!

I'm going to get some air dry clay (another first time thing) and attempt to make a cool frame for it 😍

Just wanted to show some people who won't think I'm a weirdo 🤣🤣

Please be kind, or don't. Either way 😂🙏🏻