In 1989, I was in the middle east and happened across an old leopard's cave. This was not the domicile cave, but the cave it used to store and eat its food. Long story short, I retuned with a camel skull and mandible, but it was too exposed to the desert conditions to be fed to flies, and I live in a compact urban neighborhood, so I can't bury it. It's 2004, and the smell is: lets say "not good". Is peroxide the only option, and if I use it, what concentration and how long? Will I need to scrub the skull after, and what type of abrasive should I use?
Thanks in advance...
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or placer it in a large plastic tote that will close with a lid with the skull in it. YOu can soak the thing in the tote emptying it every few days to keep the smell to a minumum. It will take a while, but the water will remove the rest of the meat(acctually the bacteria in the water). You can boil it first before puting it in the tote as well, this will speed things as it will loosen the dried on meat faster.
YOu can bury it and there will be no smell. Soil will naturally remove any smell in the bones, but you will need ot bury it on top of a large screen so you will not loose anything when you exume it later. The skull will take on the color of the soil as well, this will be a little harder to bleach out with peroxide, btu it will come clean.
YOU can also put a few gallons of peroixide in a tote and soak the skull in it for a while to remove the flesh as well. this method will take a while as well, and could be further sped up by saoking the skull in water first, or boiling it first.
You can scrub the skulls in water or in peroxide ot help remove more tissues as it is rotting, but it is really not needed as you can spray it off with a hose just as good.
I use 40 volume peroxide to bleach skulls after I clean them. I put about a cup in a half gallon of water.
also, you will probably have to degrease the skull if it was dead for a while too. the skull will come out with dark brown areas if you do not.
or placer it in a large plastic tote that will close with a lid with the skull in it. YOu can soak the thing in the tote emptying it every few days to keep the smell to a minumum. It will take a while, but the water will remove the rest of the meat(acctually the bacteria in the water). You can boil it first before puting it in the tote as well, this will speed things as it will loosen the dried on meat faster.
YOu can bury it and there will be no smell. Soil will naturally remove any smell in the bones, but you will need ot bury it on top of a large screen so you will not loose anything when you exume it later. The skull will take on the color of the soil as well, this will be a little harder to bleach out with peroxide, btu it will come clean.
YOU can also put a few gallons of peroixide in a tote and soak the skull in it for a while to remove the flesh as well. this method will take a while as well, and could be further sped up by saoking the skull in water first, or boiling it first.
You can scrub the skulls in water or in peroxide ot help remove more tissues as it is rotting, but it is really not needed as you can spray it off with a hose just as good.
I use 40 volume peroxide to bleach skulls after I clean them. I put about a cup in a half gallon of water.
also, you will probably have to degrease the skull if it was dead for a while too. the skull will come out with dark brown areas if you do not.