[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Skulls (Page 3 of 5)
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How's your squirrel coming along? Done. Rabbit skull soaking in the vol 40. I hope larger skulls are easier. These small ones are a pain. The beetle larvae get stuck in spaces that are very hard to reach. Some of them you don't notice until the skull gets white and then they show up as dark spots. I've tried picking them out, sucking them out with a shop vac, rinsing them out, etc. I thought I got them out of the rabbit skull but now that it is getting white I see more in the sinus cavities. 
I'm looking for larger skulls in the area. Hunting may get me some. Had a guy offer me a pig head. Gonna be awhile before I can tackle something that large. |
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Here's the easiest way I have found to take care of beetles in the skull. When a skull is done, put something else in with the beetles for them to eat. Another skull, some meat, whatever. The majority of them will leave the skull and go to the new food. After a day or so, sometimes less, they will be mostly off the skull. Take the skull and shake it around to flush out any other beetles inside of it, then soak the skull in hot, hot water for a couple minutes. This will kill all of the remaining beetles and eggs. Now scrub it, bleach it, scrub it, and set it in the sun for a day or two. Once it's nice and dry, use an air compressor to blow out the remaining beetles - they will blow right out. Just make sure to start with low pressure so that you don't damage the bone, especially the septum. Anything that won't blow out I get with a dentist's pick or a wooden toothpick, and anything that's really stuck in there I just leave. They will decompose eventually and if you can't readily see them then they are not a bother.
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| That's what I have tried. Problem is these skulls are so small even a toothpick won't reach into the nasal cavity. Small skulls are thin so they show up as really dark spots. I will try the dental picks as I do have some. That may get in there and reach them. Will post pics when this rabbit is done. |
Haven't bleached this one, just pulled it out of the beetles tonight but I had to share it since it is so crazy! First of all this is a big black bear - over 450lbs, taken in Oregon.
The crazy part is the lower jaw - this is the most bone deformation I have ever seen! In this picture you can see how much decay there was at the canine, and you can see how much deterioration there was in the front teeth. This old boar had a serious toothache! 
Here you can see the weird bone growth, the offset jawline, and this weird hole at the top of the jaw that has HUGE cavity. 
A top view for a better perspective. These pictures just don't do this skull justice, though . . . . it's the most unique skull I have cleaned to date. 
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Awesome! Squirrel and rabbit?
Oh and I posted these skull pictures over in the Bear Hunting forum, and here's a repsonse that may explain the oddities: fish223: Your bear in all likelihood has an expansile intra-osseous lesion of the jaw. Does not appear to be degenerative, or traumatic. As you probably know, that part of the jaw is called the coronoid process, and it is an attachment point for the muscle on the side of the head that passes under the cheekbone. The temporalis muscle is one of the mid-power closing muscles. Based on the location of the bone defect, the size, and the expansion of the cortex, I am going to guess ameloblastoma, although there are a number of other cystic expansile, destructive intra-osseous lesions that fit the clinical picture. In any event, it is a very cool finding. Is there any way you could get radiographs? Or even better, I know it has been through the beetles, is there any soft tissue from inside the defect left? I could ask one of my pathology buddies to do some sections for you. Edit: It appears that the defect runs through the coronoid, and has extended all the way down to another osseous perforation just lateral to the molars. Is it contigous inside? |
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Make sure you post pics of the fox when you get it back, Hillbilly!
I didn't completely bleach that crazy bear skull since it will be measured for a possible record, but I had to bleach it a little to get the stink out so of course it turned out quite a bit whiter. Here it is, moments before being shipped out to the hunter who killed it. When I got the skull from him, he also sent a front paw from the bear. I haven't done anything with it yet, so here it is is all its glory - one big bear paw! 
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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. Wasn't there a scare a while back about people using peroxide from beauty stores to make bombs? |
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Your beetles are working fast, that's a good sign for a newer colony. What's your daily temperature there right now? Outdoors it is 50's so way to cold for em. They are indoors and at about 85. They are breeding for sure. I saw a lot of very small larvae in there this time. |
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Ah that's only if I kiss it!
Here's a beaver skull and a coyote skull that I pulled out of the bleach earlier today - thanks for the beavers Dave15! 
And here's an interesting thing I discovered - I was curious about the front teeth of the beaver so I worked one loose and holy cow, that tooth curls WAY back in there! 
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Came out nice!
Glad you could use them. Amazing how far back and up those teeth go, isn't it? You can set them WAY out from their normal position, then paint match theml: Sort of a saber-tooth beaver. Funny how many folks will fall for that! 
And as far as that blinged-out bobcat: That thing would give me nightmares! |
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I have officially decided that I need a new camera; the flash on my current camera can really washout these skulls.
Just finished up this black bear - probably the greasiest bear I have ever done! Had to degrease it twice. 
Also just finished this coyote for one of my Coyote Clinic students. This might be the oldest coyote I have ever seen! Well beyond 8 years old, you'd have to do a tooth cross section to accurately determine the age on this old dog. On his left side he is missing nearly all of his top premolars, and his bottom incisors are almost completely gone - just little fragments. Lots of wear on his canines, as well. 
And then there's an odd little "hole" in his head. Top left of his skull just above his eye socket there's a pretty deep indent, though it doesn't go all the way through. That's probably one of the funnest things about cleaning skulls, finding all the odd and random differences and deformities. 
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