Q&A for How to Perform Salt Cure Taxidermy

God no! The entire point of salt curing is to absorb all moisture from the specimen, leaving it dry and preserving fur and other parts of the animal that would normally rot. The word "bath" here just means "immersion," nothing to do with water.

Its likely that the tail was starting to slip. You should continue to preserve it but it's likely the hair will continue to fall out.

If the specimen is small enough, it could work. I have a (salt) preserved wren heart, so I'm sure even (most of) the organs would preserve along with it. If anything, I'd make a slit somewhere along its stomach to allow it to properly 'breathe,' but that could also be an extremely delicate process, as you could split the bladder or other organs in the process! My best advice is to just try it out!

No, do not soak it in water! Continue drying it for about a month, and put it in a salt bath during that period of time. If you notice that the salt is getting wet, change it out and put new salt around it until there is no more moisture.

Yes. You should remove the tail bone by cutting all the way down, then add salt.

If it's a back scratcher, it's likely already persevered. You don't need to add salt or attempt to preserve them any further.

Yes. It is best you seal the container, as to not allow excess moisture from the air to further lengthen the drying.

Everything you preserve will have a rotting smell (in my experience). As long as you notice it's "stiffening up" normally, it should be perfectly fine! For my deceased cat, I cut a pair of slits in his skin, up the "arms" to let the muscle breathe. Just make sure it's in a safe place, because flies will lay in salt. To aid with the smell afterwards, maybe let them sit in some herb(s)? I have some wren wings I put in a baggie of sage.

Get gloves, because this is going to get messy. Grab a knife and cut all around the leg joint. Bend the leg backwards at the joint. Use a serrated knife to gently cut through any cartilage or muscle around the joint and pull it off. Then, cure or preserve using whatever method you please.

If it’s small enough, yes. But if it’s a larger head, then you should try skinning it or taxidermy the skull.

Don’t do salt taxidermy on an aquatic snail. Put it in a jar full of rubbing alcohol and close the jar.

Salt or borax would work.

Unfortunately, no; the muscle beneath the fur would cause the hide to rot and the fur to slip. But you can preserve the skull. I typically stick my skulls inside a large live ant bed for a few months, then boil the skull with a small amount of bleach to remove any rotten material. Afterward, I cover the skull in a clear enamel spray to protect it from deteriorating.

To start, you'll need (iodized) salt and a container big enough to hold the pieces without any of them touching. If you have the body, you could either use a knife or a pair of scissors to cut the joint on the legs. For the tail, cut as close to the body as you can. If you plan on wrapping the feet at all, I would just leave part of the upper leg attached to each foot. After you've done this, just bury the feet and tail in salt as the guide says.

Yes, you can leave the bones in, but the item will become stiff; for example, a tail won't bend.

When the animal is larger than say a rabbit or cat, after that their parts are too big for the salt to suck the whole thing up without an opening along the limb.

Leave until stiff or fully dried out, no drippage, afterwards, clean them off, and add salt, just to be safe for missed moisture.

Sea salt, iodized salt, doesn't matter, as long as it's fine enough to fill the whole area around the part being cured.

One should suffice, as long as there is plenty of room between each specimen.