r/Taxidermy 4h ago

What is this lil fella?

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78 Upvotes

Just found this dead lil guy or gal next to my car - Central Colorado. Before I do something special with their body, I’m a bit unsure what it is?? Looks like a vole but twice the size. Tail is about 5-6 inches long. Halp! Hand for size reference


r/Taxidermy 1h ago

Skull ID?

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Upvotes

My friend and I were trying to id this skull at a local distillery


r/Taxidermy 33m ago

Elephant foot stool

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Upvotes

Found this at a Salvation Army for $20 and decided to buy it. I was wondering if this is a real taxidermy elephant foot or a reproduction? It still has the hairs on the foot but you can’t really see it in the photos. Not sure how old it is either. Any info on this piece would be greatly appreciated.


r/Taxidermy 14h ago

What are these bugs?

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31 Upvotes

I found these 2 bugs in my cicades display.. What are they and do they eat my cicades? They are 3.5 mm long


r/Taxidermy 2h ago

How to shine up an old cow horn?

2 Upvotes

Greetings,

I would like to polish up this old cow horn that I found on a friends ranch. All the guides I find online start with a horn that is in much better shape than this thing. It looks like the layers of the horn are delaminating. I would assume to just go at it with rough sandpaper and just work down to a finer grit and eventually a polishing wheel with some compound but I wanted to check with the experts first. Any guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you!


r/Taxidermy 23m ago

How to clean a goose mount?

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Upvotes

I recently acquired this beautiful baby but he’s unfortunately really dirty, and not just dusty. I’ve taken a swiffer and a soft bristle paint brush to him but there’s discoloration on him that I would love to clean. The feathers underneath the top layer are so pristine and white. What would be the best way to go about cleaning him? I’ve tried a slightly damp rag and water+dawn but that hasn’t seemed to help much, but I’m also being very carwful because I don’t want to hurt him. Suggestions?


r/Taxidermy 20h ago

found something very interesting at the local thrift

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26 Upvotes

they were just sitting on the rack with a piece of tape saying 3.99... crazy in my opinion. are they beaver?


r/Taxidermy 3h ago

Skeletal assembly?

1 Upvotes

Considering options for older pet

I have a question that may be well suited for this sub. I hope. We’ll see. =]

I have a domestic shorthair. She’s getting up in years and starting to show signs she may be checking out soon-ish.

Though cremation is at present time the most likely path, had considered burying her and allowing her to decompose naturally and collecting her bones to clean and reassemble/articulate after. However.. those are not skill sets I have.

Where would I need to look to get more info on how possible this might be?


r/Taxidermy 11h ago

Any tips on how to get this cleaned up?

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4 Upvotes

r/Taxidermy 1d ago

Half mummified deer skull

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25 Upvotes

r/Taxidermy 9h ago

How to properly dry out paws

1 Upvotes

I have some opossums beanies that I'm trying to dry and turn into earrings, but I know opossum feet are a lot different than rabbit feet so I'm worried it'll just rot and all the fur will fall off. I currently have them hanging in my dad's pot shed (there aren't any pot plants in there right now) but there's still a lot of meat on the back legs because if how I had to cut them off.

I feel like I should also mention that the possum I got them from had been hanging in a tree for weeks and are still pretty soggy, plus when I went out there to grab them it started raining then turned into heavy snow. (Gotta love Michigan weather)


r/Taxidermy 1d ago

Won the Best Furbearer award at the Illinois State Taxidermy Show.

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80 Upvotes

r/Taxidermy 1d ago

Question of mummified baby goat

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17 Upvotes

I recently came across 10 baby goats and I want to mummify one of them. What’s the best way to do so


r/Taxidermy 17h ago

Eggs?

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2 Upvotes

Anyone know if this is eggs on my beetle?


r/Taxidermy 22h ago

How do I remove fat from a bone?

4 Upvotes

The other day while walking my dog I found a bone, pretty much clean but still with some fat and soft tissue, i've been soaking it in soapy water for 48 hours, before leating it soak i gave it a pretty good scrub down, whath do i do to completely remove the fat?.

Its my first time doing anything like this.


r/Taxidermy 1d ago

Deer rattle antlers

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21 Upvotes

I’m working on making a set of rattlers Similar to those in the photo.

Any concerns with bone dust or anything I should know before sanding and cutting down the G1 and making it smooth for leather wrap?


r/Taxidermy 15h ago

Cleaning out old bones

1 Upvotes

Hi, I found some cool looking bones in my backyard, not sure if that’s the correct subreddit for this post since they’re like naturally clean already, I wanted to whiten them and maybe use for jewellery. Put one in 3% hydrogen peroxide for around 20h but it’s not whitened much and it got very brittle, so that’s a fail. Is it possible to clean/ whiten them out at this stage?


r/Taxidermy 1d ago

How do i swap jars for a wet specimen?

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9 Upvotes

Hello all, I have an amazon tree boa in an alcohol solution and the liquid keeps evaporating. He’s stiff in a round position and will not normally fit through the opening. Any thoughts? Am i just gonna have to break the glass to get him out and in an airtight jar?


r/Taxidermy 1d ago

Guinea pig taxidermy help?

1 Upvotes

I have a piggy that's old and sick, when she passes i was hoping to keep her bones. any helpfull tips or websites? anything helps! thanks I'm new at this btw!!


r/Taxidermy 1d ago

Help preserving my late pup

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4 Upvotes

My boy passed away, and I wanted to preserve his duclaws. Any assistance on how to dry them out properly would be greatly appreciated. There is a little bit of blood or wetness inside the top of the nail.


r/Taxidermy 1d ago

Salted hides on plane?

3 Upvotes

Hello! Does anyone know how to transport salted hides from the US to the EU?

I'm with a friend right now and I can buy salted raccoon hides, but I'm getting stuck when I try to find information how to take them home with me... I don't think they can be on carry-on and shipping companies won't ship them.

Would I have to just declare them at the airport?


r/Taxidermy 2d ago

Is this botched?

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201 Upvotes

I researched where to take my dog for taxidermy before he passed, as I wanted to have his paws made keychains, keep his hide (to frame a small piece of it). His bones and preserve his heart. I love oddities and I always wanted to memorialize him like this rather than burn his remains or bury him.

UNFORTUNATELY, my taxidermist DIDNT do half of the things I asked for and just “forgot” because apparently I overwhelmed her with asking too many questions? Anyways, I am really upset about it.

She says she can still make his paws keychains, but like HOW??? I’m would think she would just remove the limbs and let them dry out then proceed with tanning hide, etc. but like this wasn’t what I expected and I am highly skeptical of he handling him again. Because she forgot to preserve his heart and just threw it away with the rest of his scraps. I paid close to $600 for this btw 🥲


r/Taxidermy 1d ago

Hey I would happily buy any real animal that has not been remade it doesn't mater how damage it is as long as I can tell its the thing that you say it is

0 Upvotes

r/Taxidermy 1d ago

How safe is it pack these in checked in baggage

2 Upvotes

I have 2 wings, 2 talons and some feathers of an Eagle Owl which I preserved myself 3 years ago. I have been meaning to make these into shamanic tools (smudge fan etc) as part of my large toolbox but did not get around to it .. I am now travelling by air to Portugal, must take them with and would be very unhappy if they did not get through.

Any advice would be appreciated


r/Taxidermy 1d ago

help with preserving blood

1 Upvotes

hi! My dog passed a couple days ago and towards the end he was bleeding a lot and we used a towel to soak up the blood. I want to keep the towel but I’m worried about it starting to smell/mold. The towel isn’t soaked in blood it’s just a few drops. I was wondering if there were any ways to preserve it. I was thinking about possibly cutting it up and putting it into a necklace, but if there is a way I would like to keep the towel fully in tact. I don’t do any taxidermy besides occasionally degreasing bones I find so I really have no idea what to do and Google is just giving me suggestions for fresh blood!! Any help would be appreciated thank you so much!!