Will anyone PLEASE tell me how to skin and mount an armadello. Thank You.
Return to Beginners Category Menu
The "old fashioned" way is really easy for armadillos (and it's Cheap too), This is how I do it---Pretend that he is a duck that you are mounting on a wrapped body---We'll do him the very same way. In case you've never done a duck on wrapped body, here's more detail---cut it down the belly and legs--standard incision--leave the skin attached to the shell and paws--you need to leave the leg bones in, so detach them at the hip and shoulder joints--remove the rest of the body and get it out of your way--you'll need to clean and scrape the inside of the shell and clean the leg bones down to the toes, or as far as you can get--when mounting, you can inject the toes.( the tail is a real pain, split it part of the way on the bottom and remove what you can---then take a large drill bit and drill out the center. this will remove most of the tail bone and flesh--you'll need to inject the tail tip, or pack it with preservative. invert the head and clean it. after all is clean, you can preserve the skin and shell and then mount.---there's more than 1 way to make a body, I recommend that you build a wrapped excelsior body. use the carcass to help you determine the right size. then wire the legs, tail, and head, push those wires through the body and secure them. them fill the legs by wrapping them or by using clay, ditto for the tail and neck. Sew him up, then position him to suit your base. Ta Da--This really shouldn't take any longer than mounting a racoon or similiar sized animal.
You can use that same technique on almost any Medium or small mammal, reptile, or bird, but on most, It's more economically advantageous to order a commercial body.
Hope that info helps.
Dave
Thanks Dave: That don't sound to hard.I've had several people ask for one, I always turned them down.Now I'll try one. I really appreciate the info. Stewart.