Skulls - AR15.COM

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Skulls (Page 1 of 5)

Posted: 12/7/2008 4:56:30 PM EDT

About a year ago, I started cleaning predator skulls with a beetle colony. Just this last season I did a few for some buddies - a couple deer and a bear, some coyotes and a few bobcats. They were all so happy with how things turned out, I thought I'd share my work with you guys. These are just a few, but you get the idea.

If anyone's interested in it, let me know. Skulls come out with no damage like you can get from boiling, spotless clean which is better than leaving it out for the ants, and no cracks like you get from the sun.

Coyote

Bobcat

Badger

Wolf and Coyote

Deer skull in a beetle colony

Bear - unbleached

Posted: 12/7/2008 4:59:33 PM EDT

[#1]

That's awesome. They came out real good.

Posted: 12/7/2008 5:26:28 PM EDT

[#2]

They look so well as if they are fake and made in a factory.

Posted: 12/7/2008 7:35:33 PM EDT

[#3]

How do you bleach them to get them so white, and with no damage?

Posted: 12/7/2008 8:12:00 PM EDT

[#4]

Rizzo, that's awesome work man.

Posted: 12/7/2008 8:41:07 PM EDT

[#5]

I have done quite a few different finishes, so here's a few tips:

Go to your local beauty supply store. Get some 40 volume peroxide. Put it in a small tupperware type container. Soak your skull until it's as white as you want it, pull it out, dry for a few days, repeat until you get desired results. Brush on a whitening paste if desired, or spray with clear coat to keep it looking fresh.

To get a lot of grease out of a skull, soak it in acetone for a few days, even a few weeks, until the yellow spots are gone. Then bleach it.

For fast bleaching but with possible slight drying damage, clorox is second to none and will bone-white skulls overnight.

Posted: 12/7/2008 8:52:10 PM EDT

[#6]

... Very cool!

Posted: 12/7/2008 8:52:16 PM EDT

[#7]

Some really good work. Look at the teeth on that bobcat. Love it!

Posted: 12/10/2008 11:31:45 PM EDT

[#8]

where and how do you get a dermestid(sp?) colony? any tips on maintaining them?

Posted: 12/11/2008 2:38:27 PM EDT

[#9]

what about an alligator?

Posted: 12/11/2008 3:09:15 PM EDT

[#10]

nice!!!

Posted: 12/11/2008 8:22:46 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
what about an alligator?

Not many gators in Arizona - but I'd be more than happy to clean one up if someone sent one to me!

Quoted:
where and how do you get a dermestid(sp?) colony? any tips on maintaining them?

I bought mine from a local taxidermist who uses them. Beetles from the wild usually have mites, which will hamper the effectiveness of your colony significantly.

A beetle colony is second only to raising pigs when it comes to ease of maintenence. Feed them a little here and there, (they eat anything organic) keep them warm and they will mulitply (and multiply!) and clean all your skulls. The biggest downside is the smell. It's a sore spot with my wife, though she does think the skulls are pretty cool and since I make a little $$ doing it that helps too.

By the way, if anyone is interested in getting a skull cleaned, let me know and we can talk about it.

Posted: 12/26/2008 7:15:23 AM EDT

[#12]

Beetles are easy to find....search beetle skull cleaning and you'll find kits/colonies.

Posted: 12/26/2008 11:46:27 AM EDT

[#13]

I recommend Dermestid Inc.. Tim Hovey is second to none and a great guy to boot.

Posted: 12/26/2008 12:50:48 PM EDT

[#14]

Just curious.. but how long does it take to clean up a deer skull?

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:41:29 PM EDT

[#15]

I have a small colony (a few thousand beetles) and it'll take them about 5 days. Someone with a bigger colony will take a shorter time, of course, but there's also some other factors - like when they last fed, how well the skull was fleshed out, temperature, and their general attitude. (they're kinda weird sometimes)

Posted: 12/28/2008 5:59:50 PM EDT

[#16]

Thats pretty cool. I read about that before and wondered how well it worked. In the one pic of the deer skull, why are the antlers wrapped in tin foil? Is it to keep them off of them or from climbing out of the container?

Posted: 12/28/2008 7:46:00 PM EDT

[#17]

They don't eat the antler or anything, it's just to discourage them from crawling around on them and potentially escaping!

Posted: 12/29/2008 10:17:49 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
They don't eat the antler or anything, it's just to discourage them from crawling around on them and potentially escaping!

See Chuckyt....I told you so. So they dont get out.

Posted: 1/2/2009 6:37:33 PM EDT

[#19]

Good stuff, rizzo....I do a little of that beetle cleaning meself!!!

Posted: 1/4/2009 8:05:39 AM EDT

[#20]

A couple of years ago I got a little 8 pointer with my bow and I wish that I had not just cut the horns off the skull. So I found a place that sells a replica whitail skull that the horns with skull cap can be fitted and set in with screws and bondo. Pobably will not be as nice as the above skulls, but better than mounting on a board alone.

Posted: 1/4/2009 9:28:48 AM EDT

[#21]

Pics of the completed mount?

Posted: 1/4/2009 2:25:31 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
Pics of the completed mount?

I just received all the goodies for the job, but it will be a while before I have the time to work on it. First I need to soak the skull plate and get all the skin and hair off which should be easy. I need to get some bondo, and they say to mix in some fiber fill or excelsior for some reason unknown to me.

I have these instructions off of the net.

Posted: 1/4/2009 2:33:40 PM EDT

[#23]

does it work on humans?

Posted: 1/4/2009 2:52:03 PM EDT

[#24]

Nice work.

Posted: 1/4/2009 3:55:33 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
does it work on humans?

Haha! The first time I went into my local beauty supply store to get peroxide for my skull bleaching, the lady kinda looks at me with a raised brow - I don't exactly look like the kind of guy who bleaches people's hair. So I say to her "I use it to bleach skulls" And she says . . . .

"Human skulls?"

Yeah, lady, human skulls. I'm a crazy serial-killer and I'm here to purchase supplies from you.

Posted: 1/11/2009 9:31:46 AM EDT

[#26]

tape off the antlers (if they have them) really well. a local guy in town did mine, but didn't do so well. My antlers have color removed where there use to be good color.

Posted: 1/12/2009 4:35:37 AM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
tape off the antlers (if they have them) really well. a local guy in town did mine, but didn't do so well. My antlers have color removed where there use to be good color.

Go to your local lumberyard, and find some wood stain that is similar to your antlers, and stain them back! Just be careful to not get stain on the whitened skull!!

Posted: 3/10/2009 2:29:52 PM EDT

[#28]

I was cleaning up these foxes this weekend and was really interested in their similar size. The one on the left is a 4 lb kit fox, the one of the right is a 10 lb grey fox. Pictures of the actual animals these skulls came from are below the skull pics, and you can see that the grey fox is a much bigger animal, yet the skulls are almost the same size. The kit fox also has very curved, very sharp canine teeth.

Kit fox (and coyote)

Grey fox (the above skull is from the one on the right)

I was also at my taxidermist's shop today and he was just pulling this jaguar skull out of his beetles - a job for the local zoo. That jaguar skull is huge - at least twice the size of a big mtn lion skull, maybe even bigger. I'll go get some more pics of it in a week or so to get a side-by-side comparison of it next to a big tom cougar skull he's got that came from a 160 lb lion.

Posted: 3/10/2009 10:16:44 PM EDT

[#29]

Is that Inca the jaguar from Heritage Park?

Posted: 3/11/2009 1:06:14 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
I have done quite a few different finishes, so here's a few tips:

Go to your local beauty supply store. Get some 40 volume peroxide. Put it in a small tupperware type container. Soak your skull until it's as white as you want it, pull it out, dry for a few days, repeat until you get desired results. Brush on a whitening paste if desired, or spray with clear coat to keep it looking fresh.

To get a lot of grease out of a skull, soak it in acetone for a few days, even a few weeks, until the yellow spots are gone. Then bleach it.

For fast bleaching but with possible slight drying damage, clorox is second to none and will bone-white skulls overnight.

I then take them and dunk them in a solution of water and Elmers glue to seal the bone, do you do that or something else ?

Posted: 3/11/2009 4:56:30 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
Is that Inca the jaguar from Heritage Park?

Yep - died from kidney failure brought on by old age, which is a pretty common way to go for old jaguars. Kidney failure also killed the jaguar they just tagged two weeks ago here in AZ.

Posted: 3/11/2009 4:58:15 PM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I have done quite a few different finishes, so here's a few tips:

Go to your local beauty supply store. Get some 40 volume peroxide. Put it in a small tupperware type container. Soak your skull until it's as white as you want it, pull it out, dry for a few days, repeat until you get desired results. Brush on a whitening paste if desired, or spray with clear coat to keep it looking fresh.

To get a lot of grease out of a skull, soak it in acetone for a few days, even a few weeks, until the yellow spots are gone. Then bleach it.

For fast bleaching but with possible slight drying damage, clorox is second to none and will bone-white skulls overnight.

I then take them and dunk them in a solution of water and Elmers glue to seal the bone, do you do that or something else ?

Never used that solution, water and Elmer's glue. Tell me about it please.

Normally I just bleach them and then leave them be, I like the natural white look for my skulls, not the shiny white look.

Posted: 3/12/2009 4:08:32 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I have done quite a few different finishes, so here's a few tips:

Go to your local beauty supply store. Get some 40 volume peroxide. Put it in a small tupperware type container. Soak your skull until it's as white as you want it, pull it out, dry for a few days, repeat until you get desired results. Brush on a whitening paste if desired, or spray with clear coat to keep it looking fresh.

To get a lot of grease out of a skull, soak it in acetone for a few days, even a few weeks, until the yellow spots are gone. Then bleach it.

For fast bleaching but with possible slight drying damage, clorox is second to none and will bone-white skulls overnight.

I then take them and dunk them in a solution of water and Elmers glue to seal the bone, do you do that or something else ?

Never used that solution, water and Elmer's glue. Tell me about it please.

Normally I just bleach them and then leave them be, I like the natural white look for my skulls, not the shiny white look.

I take and buy large bottles of generic Elmers (white) glue mix it in a bucket of water till it becomes the consistency similar to oh I am going to say just this side ( the thin side ) of pancake syrup dip skull let dry . This will seal the bone and when it dries isn't shiny like other seals . Was taught this by a museum person who did bones for the museum.

This keeps odor and bacteria at bay .

You then can cap the bucket and when needed again stir it all up and use till it no longer looks usable.

*Just make sure that the generic glue will dry clear like Elmers or use Elmers if you can find it cheap

Posted: 3/12/2009 4:45:39 PM EDT

[#34]

Hey thanks for the info!

Posted: 3/20/2009 2:06:35 PM EDT

[#35]

As promised, here's the cat skull lineup.

Jaguar on the left, big tom mountain lion in the center, and bobcat on the right.

The jaguar is the king of the North American cats, no doubt at all.

Posted: 3/20/2009 2:31:07 PM EDT

[#36]

nice!! looks awesome

Posted: 3/29/2009 6:18:10 AM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

Quoted:
tape off the antlers (if they have them) really well. a local guy in town did mine, but didn't do so well. My antlers have color removed where there use to be good color.

Go to your local lumberyard, and find some wood stain that is similar to your antlers, and stain them back! Just be careful to not get stain on the whitened skull!!

I wanted them to be natural as possible, so I did what my elk did....... I used a pine tree branch and rubbed it in the area, so the sap would stick, then sprinkled a little dirt on it. Perfect !

Posted: 4/4/2009 10:42:45 PM EDT

[#38]

used texas fireants before for a yote but dang thats cool. Beetles would have never thought.

Posted: 4/5/2009 10:37:27 AM EDT

[#39]

Fireants have been used by hunters for years, and they work pretty well except that they are a little destructive on bone material and they also don't get into the tiny little spaces that the beetles can. The other downside is the amount of time it takes for them to clean. For example, I'll be pulling two javelina skulls out today or tomorrow that I put in Thursday and they are already spotless clean. And if you can't keep an eye on your skull in the antpile, it may not be there when you go back for it. A friend of mine took two fox skulls, built little cages for them, and hooked them up to a fenceline in the middle of nowhere right on a red ant pile. He checked on them every now and then and things were going well until someone stole them.

Posted: 4/5/2009 11:51:36 AM EDT

[#40]

awesome work!

Posted: 4/18/2009 8:40:35 PM EDT

[#41]

I did a couple of javelina skulls for a guy and his grandson - kind of a salvage job, actually. He tried to boil them and when that went to Hell he handed them over to me and I let the beetles finish the job. Boiling really messes up the chemistry of the skull, but I think they still came out looking good.

Posted: 4/20/2009 7:22:03 PM EDT

[#42]

Rizzo, Will the beetles take the fur and everything off? I realize that you probably skin them and such first but I've got a deer hear that I found that still has hide on it and I'd like to get it all cleaned up but would rather not do it by hand. I was thinking about sinking it near a buddy's dock and seeing if the crawdads would take care of it.

Posted: 4/21/2009 12:47:41 AM EDT

[#43]

The beetles will eat everything organic, which means I can put a whole head in there and they will take it all straight to the bone. It takes a lot longer and smells a lot worse if I do it that way, so I skin it out, scrape the big chunks off, and remove eyes, tongue, and brains.

An older skull where the meat has dried up and rotted out will not be a good job for the beetles - they only like fresh meat. But putting it in the water, even if the crawdads don't like it, will soften up the flesh again and start the process of mastication, which means that the bacteria in the water will begin to work on it. It is a lengthy process - I cleaned a wolf skull in that manner and it took about a month.

Posted: 5/3/2009 2:26:47 PM EDT

[#44]

That's really cool. It's amazing how efficient those beetles are.

Posted: 5/3/2009 4:30:02 PM EDT

[#45]

I had a friend in high school who did this. He was always bringing snake, mouse, bird, or whatever skull to school to show off. They were very cool. He even made a bone necklace with a skull in the middle. Very cool!

Posted: 5/5/2009 8:39:45 AM EDT

[#46]

You can buy beetle colonies on ebay!

Posted: 5/5/2009 8:39:57 PM EDT

[#47]

That's true - there's a lot of places on the web to get good colonies. Be careful who you buy from, though, because you can get a colony with mites or some such disease and then they won't perform.

Posted: 5/13/2009 11:54:19 PM EDT

[#48]

What do you suggest as a good starting quantity of beetles? Would I need a few thousand or would a few hundred work until the multiple.

Posted: 5/14/2009 6:59:07 AM EDT

[#49]

Most beginner colonies start around 500 beetles, but even that is not enough to clean a skull very quickly, unless it's a pigeon skull. You'll need about a month of feeding and growing your colony before you can clean skulls effectively. You want your colony to be over a thousand before you expect skulls to be clean in a 3-4 days. I've got about 5000, and they can clean a medium sized skull in one day if I plan it right, otherwise it takes a couple days.

Posted: 5/22/2009 10:15:02 AM EDT

[#50]

rizzo, have you tried Baquicil Oxidizer for whitening yet??? Holy Smokes, that stuff is da bomb. Just a higher percentage peroxide than the 40 Volume. Don't get it on your finger, it burns!!! I soak the deer skulls about 24 hrs, then immediately dip in a 5 gal bucket of hot water, let cool, then dry. It lasts alot longer than the 40 V as well. About $15 per gallon, at the pool supply store. Baquicil is the brand name.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=23&t=623978

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Skulls (Page 1 of 5)

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