How to Do Taxidermy
Freeze the animal until you're ready to prepare it., Prepare the form., Remove the skin., If you're preserving a fish, bird, or a lizard, leave the head alone.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Freeze the animal until you're ready to prepare it.
You'll want to remove the skin as soon as is possible, but it's important to keep the animal from spoiling before you commit to preserving it and caring for the skin.
To be safe, freeze the animal so you can acquire the necessary materials for performing basic taxidermy in the meantime:
Sharp knife Sewing needle Thread Stuffing or plaster cast of animal Borax, alcohol, or your preferred preserving agent -
Step 2: Prepare the form.
Depending upon your animal, you can prepare a plaster cast of the body at this point, or purchase a premade form (as is usually done with deer busts).
You can also create your own form out of recycled materials, a particularly useful process for smaller animals.
Use sticks to create a wood frame the size of the skinned body, and wrap the frame in twine or old plastic bags.To prepare a cast, purchase a commercial molding agent like "Smooth On" to create a shape mold of the animal to fill with plaster.
Mix a small batch of plaster with water and pour quickly into your mold.
Remove the mold and smooth the cast form with sandpaper or a small pocketknife.
Don't worry too much about the details, you really just want the basic form and shape to fit the skin.
If you make your own form, it helps to have a workable example to compare it to.
Take a picture of the animal before you remove the skin and use materials that can be manipulated easily once you've started putting the form together.
Mammal legs are particularly difficult to get right.
Consider purchasing a premade mold for your first go around to use as a model for subsequent projects. , Whether you're going to preserve an iguana or a bobcat, the process starts by removing the skin and preserving it.
The particulars of the preservation process will vary depending on whether or not you have a mammal or a reptile, fish, or bird, so read on for more specific instructions regarding the preservation of the skin.
Using a sharp knife, carefully cut a seam up the belly, being particularly careful not to puncture any of the organs or body cavity, which can ruin the skin.
Work your knife evenly along the inside to loosen the skin, while peeling it back with your other hand.
Think of it as taking off the animal's jacket and trousers.
Remove as much of the flesh and fat as possible, using care to not tear or rip the skin. , Remove the skin from a mammal's head as you would the rest of the body, but for lizards, fish, and birds, you'll need to remove the brain, eyes, and tongue and leave the shape of the head intact for preservation.
The physiology of the bird makes it such that you can't (and wouldn't want to) remove the beak, so you'll have to remove the parts of the bird that would spoil and smell bad.
Smaller animals are much more difficult to taxidermy than larger mammals.
It helps to have small dentistry tools or an X-Acto knife for this part of the process, and you must be careful to remove as much of the flesh as possible.
Small debris can be removed during the preservation process, but you'll want to make sure you get most of the big bits of flesh removed from the head before moving on.
It takes patience and a strong stomach. -
Step 3: Remove the skin.
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Step 4: If you're preserving a fish
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Step 5: or a lizard
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Step 6: leave the head alone.
Detailed Guide
You'll want to remove the skin as soon as is possible, but it's important to keep the animal from spoiling before you commit to preserving it and caring for the skin.
To be safe, freeze the animal so you can acquire the necessary materials for performing basic taxidermy in the meantime:
Sharp knife Sewing needle Thread Stuffing or plaster cast of animal Borax, alcohol, or your preferred preserving agent
Depending upon your animal, you can prepare a plaster cast of the body at this point, or purchase a premade form (as is usually done with deer busts).
You can also create your own form out of recycled materials, a particularly useful process for smaller animals.
Use sticks to create a wood frame the size of the skinned body, and wrap the frame in twine or old plastic bags.To prepare a cast, purchase a commercial molding agent like "Smooth On" to create a shape mold of the animal to fill with plaster.
Mix a small batch of plaster with water and pour quickly into your mold.
Remove the mold and smooth the cast form with sandpaper or a small pocketknife.
Don't worry too much about the details, you really just want the basic form and shape to fit the skin.
If you make your own form, it helps to have a workable example to compare it to.
Take a picture of the animal before you remove the skin and use materials that can be manipulated easily once you've started putting the form together.
Mammal legs are particularly difficult to get right.
Consider purchasing a premade mold for your first go around to use as a model for subsequent projects. , Whether you're going to preserve an iguana or a bobcat, the process starts by removing the skin and preserving it.
The particulars of the preservation process will vary depending on whether or not you have a mammal or a reptile, fish, or bird, so read on for more specific instructions regarding the preservation of the skin.
Using a sharp knife, carefully cut a seam up the belly, being particularly careful not to puncture any of the organs or body cavity, which can ruin the skin.
Work your knife evenly along the inside to loosen the skin, while peeling it back with your other hand.
Think of it as taking off the animal's jacket and trousers.
Remove as much of the flesh and fat as possible, using care to not tear or rip the skin. , Remove the skin from a mammal's head as you would the rest of the body, but for lizards, fish, and birds, you'll need to remove the brain, eyes, and tongue and leave the shape of the head intact for preservation.
The physiology of the bird makes it such that you can't (and wouldn't want to) remove the beak, so you'll have to remove the parts of the bird that would spoil and smell bad.
Smaller animals are much more difficult to taxidermy than larger mammals.
It helps to have small dentistry tools or an X-Acto knife for this part of the process, and you must be careful to remove as much of the flesh as possible.
Small debris can be removed during the preservation process, but you'll want to make sure you get most of the big bits of flesh removed from the head before moving on.
It takes patience and a strong stomach.
About the Author
Charles Ryan
A passionate writer with expertise in hobbies topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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