OK,
I finally got something to practice on. Picked up an excellent condition road killed squirrel yesterday. Only mark he has is a very small raspberry on his nose, hardly visible. I went right home, placed him in a plastic grocery bag and put him in the freezer. Want to mount him on a piece of bark running up or down.
Here is what I have learned on here so far:
Need to skin him out via vent cut on belly
Need mannikin, eyes, needle, and thread.
What I'm not sure of:
Do I need a hide paste?
Can I tan it with something like Lutan-F? Curious as I would like to tan something and thought this might be tgood practice instead of just using DP.
Did I screw up freezing before cleaning and fleshing?
Does the "Breakthrough" manual on mammals have any info in it on squirrels or will it not be any help with this project?
I've used search and spent literally hours searching through previous months archives, learned a lot by that and the few videos I bought and watched. I've read so much it is starting to get muddled together. Thanks for any help you can give me. Have a happy new year.
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Hide paste is not needed. You can now thaw and skin out. Vent incision probably the best for that pose. I would case the legs for a cleaner look and less stitching. You can also cut the form in 1/2 and make a smaller incision then put the two halves back together once inside the hide. As far as tanning I have tanned many squirrels with mckezie tan with good results. I would salt and pickle after fleshing, neutralize then brush on the tan. I leave it on over night, rinse, then mount. Its okay to freeze before cleaning but try not to keep freezing and thawing it promotes bacteria. Any other questions send me an email....Mark
A word of advice from one beginner to another-
Watch out for the tail. The first squirrel i did i ripped of the tail, so i made a head mount. If you dontr already know how to do the tail, here goes- When you get to the tail, pull the skin down about,ohhhhh, 1 1/2-2 inches(until it just wont go much further) and then grab at the base of the tail and at the skin and pull with equal force on both sides, until, hopefully, it slips the tail out.
Good luck Greg!
Welcome to taxidermy!
And a happy 05 to ya, lad!
jake is right ,,,,,,,,,,,tails on squirrel,,have created quiet a few poetic phrases,,,,,,,,,,,i use a tail stripper,,, but if you dont have one you can skin the tail down like jake said and place the jaws of the pliers around the tail between the body and the skin ,,,,grab hold of the head of the pliers pull slow and steady and the tail should just slide off,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and the Breakthrough WELL worth the money,,,,,,,there is a whole chapter dedicated to squirrels,,,,,,theres a coyote,,bobcat,,badger,,and a stone sheep ,,,you learn tanning ,,,form alteration and a lot more,,,,get the manual,,,,,,,,,,,get all the manuals,,,,,,,,,hope this helps,,,,,,jim
Thanks to all. Have a tail stripper. Do you still hold the head of the tail with pliers while using it? Will be ordering Breakthrough manual for mammals ASAP.
i lock the thumb of my left hand under the tail and grip the body,,, and pull the stripper with my right hand,,,( im right handed ) make sure that none of the skin is caught in the stripper just go slow and easy ,,,,,,,,,,,you'll be amazed,,,,,,,,,,,jim