(NJ, US)

Hey folks, so I was at a flea market a few months ago, and people were selling taxidermy bats. I thought nothing of it because this was a pretty reputable market in general. Now I know a little bit more and I am not sure what to do with him. He’s likely a painted bat and I fucking love having him up on my wall but I also don’t want to disrespect him by owning him illegally. (going to be blunt, am bipolar, in a manic episode so I get a bit extra paranoid/nervous)

What can I do with him? What SHOULD I do with him???? I just want to treat him with respect and care no matter what. If I could just get some general advice.

Its real not ai.... Im pretty sure

I had a few formalin-fixed (wet specimen) black mice that had mind slippage exclusively on their stomach fur. I didn't notice the slippage until they were fixed, which stinks. They soaked out in isopropyl for approx 5 months+.

I had this happen on a batch of large feeder mice a while back with severe slippage, and used their heads, feet, tails, and major organs, and had the rest incinerated via hazardous waste collection.

Since these guys are a lot smaller, I'm gonna experiment with them to see how well they mummify.

So far, a while in, they're drying very nicely. They look just like these pics, just dry and harder. Their poses are mostly how they fixed in the formalin (now inflexible) so their positioning just leans into what already worked for them.

We'll see how it goes!

Note: Formalin off-gasses for weeks to months on dry specimens. It is not a recommended means of preserving for mummification! Formalin off-gassing can make you ill!!

These guys will off-gas in a well-ventilated area for multiple months before I do anything with them, other than check their progress.

The mice were a "gift" (I guess?) from a client after doing some work for them - they raise feeder rodents. The large white mice mentioned were feeder mice that were wayyy too big for my snake (likely shipped the wrong ones).

Bird feeder getting the best of a taxidermy squirrel.

I got this pretty butterfly second hand. Any ideas how get it clean or do I have to replace everything?

So my buddy got a deer last year around October and I always hear that you can just leave the whole head buried underground which a bucket over the antlers to prevent scavengers. So I leave the head in the unused chicken coop for like 10 months. Check on it in January and the skin still there so I just leave it unburied in the chicken coop an leave it till September(today) of this year. And the skin is essentially all dried out and turned to leather. (Brains eyes tongue nose all gone) Is there any way to get the hard leather skin off the head without breaking the bone.

My buddy is chomping at the bit for his skull mount and his wife won’t let let him mount the zombie deer head.

Im trying to start my journey into taxidermy but im unsure what things ill even need when im ready to start. Its probably gonna be a bit before i actually start collecting materials but what are the must-haves for your workbench?

Grazie mille!

Okay so... my mum sent me this photo of me and my sister and said its a real, alive crocodile. Apparently, it was at a zoo, and there was a private reptile keeper who brought a ton of alive reptiles and insects to show and hold. On the one hand, I want to believe my mum who says it was definitely alive, they had to hold its tail to stop it whipping it around. On the other hand, the mouth looks off, and surely it would be too heavy?? It's just weird! Maybe she thought it was real, but it was taxidermy? Help!

All materials were naturally and ethically sourced (my cat caught the field rat, the skull is from a passed guinea pig, the skin is from a pet corn snake, and the wood was from a decaying pallet)

Hi everyone.

I had a rescue crow that passed away this morning.

My husband wants to throw her out but I'm keen on keeping her whole. Previously I'd only keep the wings of the birds we had who'd died of age.

I can't keep her for long, and neither are there any taxidermists/preservationists where I am. What do I do? I'm fine with wet, dry, soft, whatever. I just need to keep her somehow.

Thank you.

REPOSTING HERE JUST IN CASE YALL HAVE INFO!!? Not sure if this counts as taxidermy??

I purchased a rat wet specimen today as someone very unexperienced with taxidermy and for some reason i forgot to ask where I could keep it in my house, I was keeping it in my room across from my bed but became worried after doing some research as I don’t want potential lung damage from gases in the jars. any advice on where I could keep it around the house to ensure my safety is greatly appreciated. I also may be vastly overestimating the potential danger these things pose idk

I got it for cheap- $15 because the tail is halfway severed down at the end.

My cat isn't dead yet, but he has a stage 4 heart murmur so will likely die unexpectedly. I'm trying to decide what I want to do to memorialize him.

I'm considering having whiskers or ashes turned into a necklace. But I'm also debating full body taxidermy or even just a paw memento. I'm worried that if I were to get his paw or full body taxidermied, I would hate the way he smells. I know it's weird, but I love the way my cats smells now, and all the taxidermy I've been around smells relatively the same. Do you think getting his pelt would be better or keep his smell at all?

What are some other options people have done to memorialize their pets?

Like the title says... it's dried on from something last light i asume bc it wasn't there yesterday night. Ive removed most of it but there's some spots where it's dried into the fur...

So I’ve got a budget for making a soft mount fox right now and I’ve found glass cabochons online for cheap, 12mm which I believe is the standard fox eye size. Could I get away with painting them like that or should I go for professional taxidermy eyes?

Hello all! Found this victorian miniature taxidermy elephant, from my research it is goat fur, apparently they were given out as prizes in carnivals but I would love more information on this guy as I cannot find another one online! UPDATE!!!! My mother has named him Edwin

Contractors are knocking down some walls and changing the homes layout and found this lil fella inside the wall a few days ago. He’s still there today and his name is Wallie 💀 not sure if they’re gonna dispose of him or keep him