Maceration Step by Step

[Helicity]

they were just so crap encrusted and icky i have had them in soapy water for abotu a week

[hmmca]

I will have shortly some skeletons to clean shortly and they will be decent sized animals, will maceration work?  (thanks wolfwman for the tutorial!) I could try to set up a colony of beetles, but I live in Northern IL and they can not live through the winter, bringing them inside would make me single again.  So would this process work on full sized animals.

Thanks

[Wolfwoman]

Don't know about skeletons, haven't ever done one, but I don't see why not. A bone is a bone.

[joeyarcher]

If it's too cold for the beetles to be outside, wouldn't it be to cold for the maceration process? I've only ever done 2 macerations, and they were done outside in very warm weather. If you intend to do a maceration process inside on a animal of that scale, you will definitely find yourself single again. How about it Wolfman (lol). It's definitely a smell that you will never forget. I use dermistid beetles and found after I done some buffalo hind legs for a school teacher that the bone marrow within the legs make the bones start to turn black. I had to drill holes into the hidden parts of the joints for the beetles to get access to the marrow. So I'm not sure that maceration would work, but maybe. What do you think Wolfman?

[Wolfwoman]

Done it inside many many times... I know this post is long (LOL) but it's here somewhere.

Cold outside... use an aquarium heater.

Wolf WOMAN

[joeyarcher]

Sorry (lol) WOLFWOMEN

[Sea Wolf]

Yep, there are wolfwomen here. Me, Wolfwoman, SnowWolf ... at least

[Wolfwoman]

and Wolf, don't forget her! However, I am but one

[Sea Wolf]

Nah. We's a whole pack O wuffs.

[joeyarcher]

WoW,  That's great! I hadn't any idea. Apologies accepted??? You know what they say: assumption is the mother of all f*** ups. And I just assumed. Will the pack ever forgive me???

[Wolfwoman]

*wags* sure nuff

[Snowwolf]

Wow, seeing you called "Wolfman" so much is...well, kind of annoying. But apparently is an easy mistake? At least you're very forgiving! 

Yep, this place is just crawling with women wolves. Glad I seem to have been accepted into the pack, hehe. 

I, too, had problems with bone marrow after maceration. One person I talked to told me about drilling a small hole in either end, so I did that and put it in some soap/water. It seemed to do an alright job. One, I was too lazy to drill and covered the seeping marrow with leather and added some charms to distract from the color. Yeah, yeah, totally unsanitary, but it's on display and hasn't gotten worse (it's a deer leg bone, by the way)...I'd love to clean it better, but I used glue to keep the leather in place and messed it up for myself. Just one bone, though, and its color makes it unique, in a strange, dirty way.

[mnstrbuck11]

I've been reading this thread for awhile now and decided too try it I have bear skull soaking right now and had just emptied the bucket and it seems too be working just fine. Its been soaking now for 2 weeks. the teeth are falling out and the jaw just split, and it does STINK (LOL). It should be done in another week or so

[Wolfwoman]

Sounds like you're doing just fine Make sure to go thru all the yuk and get those teeth retrieved!! LOL

[Helicity]

its been two weeks and everythign is takign longer then expected....oh well. But shodul i change the water if algea starts to grow?