Form for cottonmouth

[mrdux]

I have a customer who recently caught a cottonmouth that was 49 inches long and 8 inches girth. I saw the snake when it was brought to my shop ALIVE! It had been hooked with a bass crankbait on KY Lake. Talk about one pizzed off snake!!! The customer wants to try to mount it himself and I have been looking for forms. Does anyone make a large cottonmouth form or can a rattlesnake form be altered to fit? I sold him a container of Snake Tan and he is in the process of tanning it now. Any info would be appreciated since I have 4 cottonmouths to mount. None as big as the one mentioned.

[Wolf]

Make your own form from a carcass cast in the position you want the snake mounted.  If you want coils to over lap you will have to pay attention to how you mold and cast it. This is how I do my snakes... little corals to big cotton-mouths.  I've been making life-cast molds with alginate and pouring a form when I get done with the mold.  You can carcass cast with plaster then grease up the mold with wax or vaseline before you pour the foam.  For small snake, you can use the "can-o-foam" stuff to make a form if you don't have the kit for Urethane foam.  After you pour the foam, clap a piece of cardboard to the mold so you get good density for a better form.

Carving a snake form is another easy method if you have carving foam about.  Good luck with your snakes!

[Derek Bowser]

Wolfie, it sounds like its too late for those methods, which work well for me too, he said the snakes already in the tan, so i guess try to alter a mannikin now, I dunno

[Wolf]

He could freeze the skin to buy some time.  I guess carving a commercial mannikin to fit would work.  The head features need to altered alot is all.

[JC_118]

Alter a rattlesnake. Cottonmouths are flatter than rattlers, just rasp it down and use a gentle stroke while sanding., I would make sure the head is a bit smaller as they seem to mount up better.

I carve all my snake forms now days.

[mrdux]

Thanks for the replies. This guy is a good customer who is also a wannabe taxidermist. I guess If he has screwed this project up he'll be more inclined to bring his next work to me. Sort of the old give 'em enough rope deal. I would have carcass cast it or hand carved the form. I'm just not interested in taking the time to teach this guy either technique. Maybe this sounds sort of bad but I must be the only taxidermist out there who attracts this type of customer.