# How to clean up a skull for display??



## ForestNinja (Oct 14, 2008)

I picked up my bear skull today from the taxidermy and was wondering if anyone knows of a good way to clean one up for display. I need to get all the meat, cartilage and brain out. Would boiling it be the best way? What else??


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## threeleggedpigmy (Oct 14, 2008)

dermestid beetles.


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## GA DAWG (Oct 14, 2008)

threeleggedpigmy said:


> dermestid beetles.


And I have a buddy that does it with those in forsyth county..PM me if you'd like his number...They look twice as good as any I have done myself!


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## dawg2 (Oct 14, 2008)

threeleggedpigmy said:


> dermestid beetles.



Yep.  You can order them but if they get loose in your house, you will have problems. Easiest was is use them for free OUTSIDE.  Freeze the skull if it is too cold, but in warn weather they are outside naturally. Put the skull in a cage on the ground & let the flies, carrion beetles and dermestids eat all that junk for a few weeks.  2 things:  1-put it somewhere out of the way, it will stink; 2-Make sure it has a mesh bottom in case any teeth fall out and you can recove them.  

Once all the meat is gone immerse the entire skull in the strongest hydrogen peroxide you can find for 24 hours.  This will sanitize and whiten the skull.  Do it again for 24 hours with fresh HP.  It should be clean after 2X but you can do it again.  Do not use bleach, it will pull the calcium out of the bone and make the skull brittle.  Place it in the sun for a few days and it will be as white as it will get and look natural, not painted. I do this with skulls I find or get.


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## ForestNinja (Oct 14, 2008)

dawg2 said:


> Yep.  You can order them but if they get loose in your house, you will have problems. Easiest was is use them for free OUTSIDE.  Freeze the skull if it is too cold, but in warn weather they are outside naturally. Put the skull in a cage on the ground & let the flies, carrion beetles and dermestids eat all that junk for a few weeks.  2 things:  1-put it somewhere out of the way, it will stink; 2-Make sure it has a mesh bottom in case any teeth fall out and you can recove them.
> 
> Once all the meat is gone immerse the entire skull in the strongest hydrogen peroxide you can find for 24 hours.  This will sanitize and whiten the skull.  Do it again for 24 hours with fresh HP.  It should be clean after 2X but you can do it again.  Do not use bleach, it will pull the calcium out of the bone and make the skull brittle.  Place it in the sun for a few days and it will be as white as it will get and look natural, not painted. I do this with skulls I find or get.



Thats a good plan. I got a small cage I can put it in. I've also heard of putting it on a ant mound and they will clean it.


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## dawg2 (Oct 14, 2008)

ForestNinja said:


> Thats a good plan. I got a small cage I can put it in. I've also heard of putting it on a ant mound and they will clean it.



Forget the ants.  Don't bury it either, the clay will stain it.


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## ForestNinja (Oct 14, 2008)

I have it in the freezer for the moment. I think I'll wait till next spring to do it.


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## threeleggedpigmy (Oct 14, 2008)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280276436892


I watching this colony for sell but ebay got it>


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## ForestNinja (Oct 14, 2008)

threeleggedpigmy said:


> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280276436892
> 
> 
> I watching this colony for sell but ebay got it>



I guess you can buy anything on ebay


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## C.Killmaster (Oct 14, 2008)

Boil it in Sal Soda (sodium carbonate) for 30 min.  Sal Soda can be found at taxidermist supply places like WASCO in Monroe or listed as washing soda in the grocery store.  Use 1 cup Sal Soda per gallon of water.  It basically turns the tissue to gel and makes it easy to take off.  I usually use an electric pressure washer (1500psi) to take off most of the meat after boiling in it.  Then soak it overnight in peroxide and put it in the sun as already suggested.  You just have to keep a close eye on it and don't boil it too long.


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## Ths dog hunts!! (Oct 14, 2008)

I Know how!! PM me, I'll send ya my phone number


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## HighCotton (Oct 14, 2008)

DO NOT boil it.

You risk cooking the fat into the skull and staining it and also damage to the teeth and small bone structures.


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## bnew17 (Oct 14, 2008)

boiling the skull works, letting ants eat it works too...been there , done that


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## dawg2 (Oct 14, 2008)

HighCotton said:


> DO NOT boil it.
> 
> You risk cooking the fat into the skull and staining it and also damage to the teeth and small bone structures.



That will boil the fat right into the bone.


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## HighCotton (Oct 14, 2008)

bnew17 said:


> boiling the skull works, letting ants eat it works too...been there , done that



Yes it "works" but it is NOT the best way to do it.


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## blackbear (Oct 15, 2008)

Look up /google/skullsunlimted....They are highly recommended and do a JAM UP JOB ON BEAR!!!
GOOD luck & congratulations on a awsome BIG BLACKIE,that was a great adventure you had & deserve the BEST for your TROPHY BEAR!!!!Good luck & hope this helps....I hope to get one and i will be sending it to them=no problems....
P.S.Let us know what he scored,skulls unlimted will score it for free with a professional=bonafied score I think for pope& young it will have to go 18inches....


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## yelper43 (Oct 15, 2008)

Their is a man in Dalton, Ga. that uses the beetles to make European mounts for hunters. I remember seeing an ad in the Dalton Citizen paper last year.


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## JerkBait (Oct 16, 2008)

should have just let the taxidermist do it. that would be the easiest way


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## HighCotton (Oct 16, 2008)

JerkBait said:


> should have just let the taxidermist do it. that would be the easiest way



Why pay a taxidermist $150 for something you can do yourself for $35, panel included?


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## Canebrake (Oct 16, 2008)

use a large syringe to squirt water down into the foramen magnum (brain cavity).  The water will displace the brains and get that cavity cleaned out.  You may have to use the needle to kinda loosen them up.  You need to do this if you are using beetles as they like flesh but won't consume the brains!  

The best way to do it is use the beetles and maybe a little peroxide to brighten it up.  Although they are a little more trouble to buy and such, this is how we prepared study skulls for use in Mammalogy classes at UGA for use in the Museum of Natural History. I wouldn't boil it b/c if you cook too long some of the thinner structures start to deteriorate. Good luck!


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## Sylvan (Oct 16, 2008)

The taxadermist I use will do a deer skull mount for $35 if you let him keep the cape. It's a good deal for both cause if you want a skull mount you don't need the cape anyway.


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## GAMHUNTER35 (Oct 16, 2008)

yea got the beetles on my gator skull right now


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## JerryC (Oct 19, 2008)

If you're looking for Sal Soda, consider this alternative: Sodium Carbonate, which is what Sal Soda is, is also Soda Ash. In the swimming pool and spa industry, this is what we sell as pH increaser. For a small quantity, you can buy usually a 1 lb or 2 lb pH Increaser (can be called just that, or can also be pH Up or many similar names.) You'll see on the label that it is 100% Sodium Carbonate. Bioguard also sells it as BalancePak 200 in a small container. This may save you some money and make it easier to find.
Be sure not to get anything designed to raise the Alkalinity, as this will be sodium BIcarbonate not sodium carbonate. -JerryC


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## seaweaver (Oct 19, 2008)

Fiddler crabs.





cw


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## deerhunterlaw (Dec 3, 2009)

I need to get his number . I allso have a head to get cleaned I live in silver city please call me at 678-283-4275 THANK YOU .


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## GA GAME GETTER (Dec 3, 2009)

i put mine on a big ant hill and let it sit


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## Phil (Dec 7, 2009)

A few years ago i got a really big 10 pointer, my best deer ever. Put skull outside on ant mound, and someone stole it!  I assume some curious kids, but I still felt really stupid!


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## bowbuck (Dec 7, 2009)

There are some good suggestions on here.  I have always just kept the system going and let my taxi mail it to a place in Montana.  However a couple of things, if you get beetles i wouldn't put them in the house, if they were to get out they will eat the hair off your mounts that are already there.  I brought some in on a rack one time and had to end up getting my taxi to retreat my mounts.  Second off, I tried the ant mound thing once without a cage and something toted my hog skull I had off.  Good luck with it and if you put it in a cage wait until spring, I put one out in October once and it still looks horrible.


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## Barry Duggan (Dec 7, 2009)

I think some folks start off with a pressure washer.


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## BowanaLee (Dec 9, 2009)

ForestNinja said:


> I picked up my bear skull today from the taxidermy and was wondering if anyone knows of a good way to clean one up for display. I need to get all the meat, cartilage and brain out. Would boiling it be the best way? What else??



Skin it and cut off as much meat as possible then follow the directions in this link. You can have it ready to admire the same day you start. Nothing to it ! 

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=451181


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## badkarma (Dec 22, 2009)

I can't get the smell out so there must be meat or something in a cavity I can't see.


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## BowanaLee (Dec 23, 2009)

Open the brain cavity and dump or pick the meat out. It really shouldn't stink, its been cooked.


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