Hello all,
I recently rescued a large (18' by 21") hide of what appears to be anaconda from drying out in an antique store. I've never dealt with any sort of tanned hide outside of cowhide, and was wondering if anyone here had recommendations on how to keep it preserved. I've searched this site, and found a short discussion on this subject from two years ago, but would still like to know if anyone else has any recommendations on keeping this hide in good shape or can point me in the right direction. I've got some small pictures of the hide if anyone needs to see it.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-3/976977/anaconda3.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-3/976977/anaconda4.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-3/976977/anaconda8.jpg
Thank you,
Sawyer Gosnell
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By the pictures, it seems to me that it was never descaled after the drying process. that is why it looks like it has a hazed surface to it. This may or not be true but is just an opinion from thje picture. The only way to give you a suggestion is to know if it was previously tanned or just slated then dried. If it was never tanned, than if the skin is still of good condition, the next step would be to rehydrate and tan it using Rittels snake tan. After tanning, oil it well and it will last a lifetime. If the skin was previously tanned, you may try oiling it with any sort of tannong or snake oil, and it should absorb it enough to make the skin pliable and not so britle. Now, if the skin was never descaled, this will have to be done before the oil is applied