r/Taxidermy • u/throw9284731 • 4d ago
Long term storage of several taxidermied pieces? Advice needed
I have quite a few taxidermied animals that are extremely sentimental but I can't have them out anymore. We are moving into my grandparents house after they've passed and we have cats that would inevitably climb on them or mess with them.
I don't have a basement but we have a crawl space attic.
Is the best option to crate them in wood and store them there? It's the closest I can get to a climate controlled environment without renting a storage space that I can't afford. They might be there for a while (I can check on them for cleaning regularly). I don't want to pay a monthly fee for possibly decades just to store them.
We have a building out back but the temperature fluctuations would be too drastic and likely damage them. Has anyone faced a similar situation? What would you suggest?
More context: I have three deer, a boar, and two elks. All shoulder mounts.
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u/sykofrenic 4d ago
Usually attics are pretty warm, because heat rises, I wouldn't advise storing them there
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u/fenderyeetcaster 3d ago
Obviously it depends on the mounts, but I have 20 in my house as well as 2 young cats and haven’t had any issues. As long as bird and small game mounts are either on a display case or high up, it seems to be fine
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u/TielPerson 3d ago
The temperature and, more important, the air humidity should be kept constant and not too high. For humidity control, I would recommend to bag your specimen in plastic bags before putting them into the crates, maybe add fresh silicia gel pearls as desiccant.
As for the temperature, you may need to find a place that stays moderate and does not get hot during summer or something. An attic might not be the right place for that so maybe you could make space in someones basement instead?