Taxidermy Tips

While you obviously have the choice of taking your prize kill to a professional taxidermist to have them take care of everything for you, this can quickly cost you a lot of money. Besides, more and more sportsmen are discovering the immense fun to be had through taking care of their own taxidermy, adding a much greater degree of pride to the whole process. Here is an overview on some taxidermy tips that are sure to help you have a much easier and safer experience while preparing your prize kill for a brilliant showcase.

First, one thing that many people do not realize is that you can actually freeze dry your animal instead of going through the entire traditional taxidermy process. However, this is usually best left for smaller subjects such as song birds, snakes or even insects. This freeze drying method uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the subject’s joints in place which allows you to freeze them in a pose of your choice, and preserve their internal components and prevent them from spoiling. In addition, this ability of liquid nitrogen to preserve the internal organs and allow them to remain intact is a great for those of you who would like to study and dissect your subject later down the road.

In addition, one of the other top taxidermy tips that you should make sure to follow at all times relates to rabies. Rabies, a member of the rhabdovirus family, is transmitted from one warm blooded animal to another through biting, saliva contact and other similar methods of conveyance. The scary part is that this virus can still be transmitted even after the animal has been dead for hours. So, since an animal often licks its own fur, you must always be careful when handling your animal, even if it is just the fur and not the area around the mouth. To help you to avoid possibly contracting this awful virus, make sure that you always wear rubber gloves while working on your animal, wear protective goggles, make sure that you do not have any exposed open wounds and always thoroughly wash your clothes and work apron after each taxidermy session.

Another one of the more important taxidermy tips that you will also want to pay careful attention to actually regards the very first step—make sure the animal is completely dead before you approach it and draw your knife. All too many sportsmen have made the mistake of walking right up to an animal that was not completely dead yet.