Questions on dp for mounting a squirrel?

[JDOglesby]

hey guys im new to all this and im trying to do a squirrel for my first mount. ive been told to use dp and i was wondering if the skin needs to be salted before using dp or is it ok to just skin it and throw it back inn the freezer? also when skinning i only cut down the belly not going up any of the legs or the tail. is this ok? or do i need to go up the legs and tail?   

[joeym]

Do Not Salt!  DP and salt are a bad combination.   Your belly incision will be adequate.   When mounting, you may need to cut the mannikin in half to get into the body.  Additionally, I often cut off one front and one rear leg of the mannikin to ease in inserting it without over-stressing the skin.  They can be reattached with bondo, hot glue, or simply by pinning when re-assembling.

[JDOglesby]

ok thanks. i didnt salt them. i just put them back min the freezer is there anything i should do before freezing? also is there any anything i need to do while thawing a whole frozen squirrel or skin?

Thanks

[joeym]

ok thanks. i didnt salt them. i just put them back min the freezer is there anything i should do before freezing? also is there any anything i need to do while thawing a whole frozen squirrel or skin?

Thanks

Freeze in an airtight plastic bag.  When thawing, take specimens out of the bag and lay on a dry towel.   The towel will absorb moisture and blood as the specimen thaws.

[gade04]

Keep in mind, a whole squirrel can take while to thaw whereas a skin takes relatively very little time to thaw.  You probably already knew that, but just putting that out there.  Also, I would wash and rinse the hide before the dp unless you did it right before freezing.  Also, once you put that dp on there, you have to mount it.  It's not like tanning, so make sure you have plenty of time to finish the job.

[JDOglesby]

thanks again if i wanted to tan the squirrel would i need to cut open the legs and tail or could i just leave them intact?

[gade04]

Just invert them.