Bearded dragon taxidermy...

[Wolf]

This is basically for Ace-man since he asked for tips, but I figured I'd post on the forum for others to see the technique I used.

I can't find my skinning photos, but this was done with a ventral incision.  I cut down the underside of each leg and each toe, I was after the bones first, you could probably invert the feet.  Before I skinned the dragon I made a reference cast, molding with alginate, cast in plaster, visible in the center of this pic.  The cast, an x-ray, skinning pics and reference book were used while I articulated the skeleton.



Over a year later I found the skin balled up in the freezer and figured, what the heck, I'll mount him.  I made a cheap mold of the plaster ref cast, and made a foam cast from that.  I sculpted in details and fixed the form accordingly.  I just dry preserved the skin with borax.  The feet and toes were packed with clay and shaped as I went and the incisions sewn up, half the tail was packed like the feet.  In skinning the head, I had a very small hole on top between the eyes where the skin was stubborn and stuck tight to the skull... the skull HAD to go with the skeleton so I just cut the hole.  After I got the eyes set I used zap around that hole so it stayed in place while drying.  I zapped the lips into the right position and that was about it.  I made my own eyes... gold reptile eyes with a round pupil are what you want to buy though.  I repaired and painted the hole on the top of the head when the mount dried, and I made new claws since the originals where with the skellie.  Here's a couple other pics... hope this helps.  Its not rocket science, just have fun with herp taxidermy and use good ref.





Sorry those are a bit blurry.
Wolf

[Jim B]

Wow,that's impressive.Nice work.How did you make your eyes?

[gator dun]

Thanks for your help wolf, I going to try and mount my beardie here pretty soon, I can see that the head is going to be difficult,the skin is real tight to the skull.  If i don' t  screw it up , i'll post some pics when he's finished.

[Kerby Ross]

Ace Man, another method is to cast the head in Jeltrate/Alginate and make a bondo repro head. Way easier than trying to skin it. Saves on time and looks better than the skin mount head IMO. Easy to paint. Easy for the eye placement, etc..

Kerby...

[Wolf]

His eyes need to be reglazed with resin... there got scratched with a needle.  For some strange reason I forgot they weren't glass (slaps forehead)

I can cast any size eyes with clear resin... or the cheating method is to go to the craft supply, like Michael's or Hobby Lobby, and get these clear half-sphere plastic "stones." They are made to be painted on the flat side for jewery and stuff and come in 3 sizes, 8mm, 11mm and 14mm.  Dremel out a pupil (which takes a steady hand and practice) paint it black, then paint your iris whatever.

I use them when I either don't want to spend money on a little project I don't expect to get reimbursed for, or when I do a project that is a spur of the moment ordeal and I either don't have time or don't want to wait for shipping.  I'm such a penny pinching, impatient little git, lol.  

I don't make eyes for big game though, I'll buy glass blanks if I want speciality colors and do it myself.  There is too much risk for bubbles and imprefections in a surface area of 32 mm, and glass just looks better.  But for herps, birds, heck paint them solid black for squirrels and stuff... they are awesome.  They do scratch easy, the only major downfall to them, and you don't want to clean them with a solvent, stick to windex.

[Wolf]

Here Jim....



This is a python head cast in bondo.  I have to sculpt out the head muscle and detail before I mount it, but the eyes were made with the method mentioned above on one of those 11mm clear stones.  The color isn't exactly accurate, but this is for a 15 ft snake rug, and I want the eyes to stand out.  The pupil is slit like a real burmese python, and the iris is metalic silver blended with black, and coffee brown.  To be accurate, there would be a burnt umber bar through the center of the eye that lines up with the brown strips on the skin and makes the eye disapear naturally.  But they still have that metalic sheen.

[Jim B]

Wolf,pretty cool.Thanks.