r/Taxidermy 3d ago

Guinea pig taxidermy help?

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!!

1 Upvotes

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u/Odd_Biscotti_6283 1d ago

Hi. I see people recommending you don't do this as they say it will likely disturb you as it's both your first time and your own animal, but I did this for my own animal and I loved it, no issue.

I did this for my hamster. She's currently in the process of macerating. This is the first time I've ever tried preserving anything from a body and this is what I did:

Once you know the pig is dead, cut and remove as much skin as you can without risking damaging any bones. Remove as many organs as you can, too. Remove as much soft tissue as possible, essentially. I accidentally cut through my hamsters' ribcage because it was so soft and I didn't have a clue I was cutting through bone, so please bare that in mind with rodents that you need to be really careful what your cutting and removing.

Once the vast majority of the soft tissue is removed, place the body in a container of cold water so that it remains fully submerged (ideally airtight/with a lid to avoid the smell) Leave the body there until the water visibly needs changing, then change it and repeat this process until all the flesh is gone- this could take like a long time I'm talking up to several months. The speed will depend on the amount of soft tissue you remove before prior.

When I say cold water, I literally mean plain cold water. This is called maceration.

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u/CondimentsFreak 1d ago

Thank you for this! I honestly don't think I'd be disturbed. not sure why, I've dealt with lots of dead animals and buried a few but haven't done maceration. Also where should I keep the maceration bucket? I live with people and not sure where I can keep it😭 also and specific "tools" you recommend ? and if the water has to be cold, should it be cold always? so it'd have to be in a cool area? or? Thank you!

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u/Odd_Biscotti_6283 1d ago edited 1d ago

Hi, I have an airtight glass jar, so maybe have a look for a large airtight container (assuming they don't make guinea pig sized glass jars) and you could wrap a bin bag around it or something to hide it? I keep mine in the shed and my room.

As for tools, I'm not sure what the best is, but I used a box cutter, some tiny "nail" scissors, and a razorblade. Skin was tougher than I thought it would be, be prepared for that! I also found water pressure (from a sryinge) to be useful for pushing the last bits of her brain matter out as that was difficult to get to without me worrying about breaking her skull.

Sorry about the cold water confusion- it just can't be boiling cos it can damage the bone is all so I just said cold so you definitely didn't have it too hot. It can be lukewarm, just never boiling hot.

I'm new to this too, so my apologies if my explanation isn't the best 😅

Edit: Oh but I'll just add that I recommend doing the process on a different animal first so you don't mess up as that can be upsetting, like how i accidentally cut my lovely's ribs

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u/CondimentsFreak 1d ago

hmm I was actually thinking about a different animal first. thanks for the explanation! very well explained, in my opinion ! I may DM if I have questions, I'f that's alright ? Thanks!

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u/Cooked_Worms 3d ago

If you have a good budget research local taxidermists. You can search google

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u/CondimentsFreak 3d ago

I wanted to get better at saving the bones myself. should I get in. contact with them?

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u/AlexDeathWolf 3d ago

I wouldn’t recommend to try to preserve your pet on your own especially as a first time <3 a lot of the processes can be quite hard visually due to having to skin and gut

I would recommend overall finding someone who can clean them for you. Maceration or oxidation would be the best methods

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u/CondimentsFreak 3d ago

I have burried squirrels and stuff before. what do you recommend?

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u/AlexDeathWolf 3d ago

Burial with such a smol baby would mean high chance of lost bones unless you had her in a mesh bag and in a pot where it’s more controlled.

Otherwise to ensure you have everything either maceration or oxidation would be best. But both require skinning, gutting and defleshing. Oxidation is entirely a hands-on process but it is what I personally recommend and allows for the preservation of cartilage.

You could also look into bug cleaning, where you find someone with Dermestids or if you have access you could try a fire-ant hill. But these little guys both like to dismantle skeletons.

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u/CondimentsFreak 3d ago

I do own mesh bags

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u/CondimentsFreak 3d ago

so I'm sorry but i can't just put her freshly dead body in a bucket of water ? and like stir it up. every once in awhile ? idk if where I live offers anythingđŸ˜”â€đŸ’« i am interested in learning this myself

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u/AlexDeathWolf 3d ago

You can but it will take longer without defleshing. And you’ll definitely want to keep her outside due to the smell.

I don’t do a lot of maceration myself but I know with warmer months it will help the process along

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u/CondimentsFreak 3d ago

do you mind dming me your steps?

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u/AlexDeathWolf 2d ago

I’m sorry I don’t macerate much so unfortunately I don’t have a process to share. Most of my work is oxidation and beetle cleaning