Q&A for How to Preserve a Skull

Soak your skull in water for several days. If you're worried about germs or other bugs living in your skull, a dip in a peroxide bath will sanitize and kill bugs.

Start with 2 coats. Make sure the entire skull is covered.

Yes, of course! Pretty much every corpse can be macerated and cleaned up in this way. Just be careful, as the smaller the animal, the smaller the bones. Also, make sure to skin it or pluck out as much hair as you can, as it doesn't degrade at all during the process.

Bleach isn't needed, but hydrogen peroxide will help clean up any flesh that didn't rot off at all in the process! If you must skip this step though, I always soak my bones in bio powder (laundry soap) anyway, and it gets rid of any germs and smell.

I have both a wren and robin skull, and I just left them in a box and let flies lay, allowing maggots to clean them both up for the most part. Afterwards, I just soaked them in water and cleaned them up by hand, but that was before finding out about hydrogen peroxide. I'd imagine the ant thing would work, and once enough flesh has been stripped off it, just wrap the beak and keep it up out of the mixture to make sure the keratin doesn't get ruined.

Check pool supply stores or health food stores. More often than not they'll have the kind you're looking for.

Yes, although it may be more fragile than a larger animal's skull. Start with the cold maceration as it is less likely to chip or break the bones.

All of them. Make sure you remove the fur and any other organic matter attached to the skull before bleaching it.

Soak it in a 5 gallon bucket of water with Oxyclean and Dawn dish soap for about 3 or more months, the longer the better. Kind of a "set it and forget it" method. The dried brain will fall off leaving the bone fairly clean. Spray off with a hose or pressure washer.

Yes, although it may be more fragile than a larger animal's skull. Start with the cold maceration as it is less likely to chip or break the bones.

You could mount it on a piece of wood, paint it, or display it as-is.

Use cotton pads dipped in some detergent. Tape them to the mark to loosen up the imprint and maybe leave it attached overnight. Then wipe clean with a bristle tool to finish it up.

As long as the bone isn't damaged, it should be perfectly fine to go ahead and macerate! Flesh just rots, I've macerated many rotten corpses. If you have most of a skull, you should at least give it a shot.

I always soak all of my bones in bio powder (laundry soap)! You can just buy a cheap, natural powder in bulk and add some to warm water, letting the bones sit in it for a good day or more. It completely cures the smell!

Hydrogen peroxide is the only thing that will sanitize and whiten the bone without hurting it. Never use bleach as it will make the bone brittle.

No.

If you're careful enough with it, you can just wrap and tape up the base of the antlers with some plastic wrap and just have them sit out of the mixture, leaving the skull to soak.

It depends on what % peroxide you use. The stronger the peroxide, the shorter the time. I use a 50/50 mix of 29% tech grade peroxide and water. Get it boiling, dip the skull. and leave it in for 10 minutes, then pull it out and pressure wash/rinse. If you use 3% store bought stuff and don't boil, it takes a lot longer.

I'd soak it in the hydrogen peroxide mixture to get rid of any flesh, but afterward, I always soak my bones in a bit of a bio power (laundry soak) mixture to completely clean them. After you let them soak for a day or more, it completely gets rid of the smell.

Roadkill is the primary source for many people. You can also visit butcher shops or partner up with hunters. Look into your local community to see if any of these opportunities are there. Never kill an animal.

Try putting it in a bath of water and dish soap for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. The grease should work its way out and float right to the top for you to scoop out! It might not work with deeper grease stains, but it should at least help.

Don't store it outside while it still has flesh attached to it. It may attract animals and bugs. However, you can keep it outside to dry after it's been bleached.

Just try salt curing it. The fur may not stay on it it's an older corpse, as hair always falls out, but salt curing would completely dry it out and preserve the body further. For instructions, check out Perform Salt Cure Taxidermy .

Mix 35% peroxide with calcium carbonate and apply the paste to the skull. It will bleach up nice and white!

Horns are attached to the skull, so no extra steps are needed. If they do for some reason fall off, just super glue them back on.

I've heard that using bleach powder works well and is less harsh than bleach, but I still wouldn't trust it. Peroxide is your best bet.

Yes, you can.

A lot of people just glue the jaw on, but that leaves it immobile. I usually strategically place a rubber band to make the jaw open and close like a spring.

Use a sharp knife to cut through any flesh, then cut between two vertebrae.