Hey all. You probably don't remember me, but I'm the one who was asking about schools and such. I talked to this guy in the next town, and he said that maybe we can work something out next summer. Anyways, I shot and skinned and salted a chipmonk. I shot at a bad angle, so there was a big hole in him, so I had to cut that all away, so now I just have his head and his back and his hind legs. Now, it's done (pretty good for my first, I think) but it's really dry (I think I left the salt on too long). What can I put on the hide to make it softer? Could I just put on some Neatsfoot, or would that ruin the color of the fur?
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Salt isn't a tan, but will dry your skin out and keep bacteria from growing on it until you are ready to rehydrate and tan. But, it won't tan the skin itself. For that you will need to buy a tan from a taxidermy supply company (www.Van Dykestaxidermy.com, or you can try brain tanning, (go to www.braintan.com).
After you tan the skin, you could "work" the hide over a table edge to soften it. But be gentle, because chipmunks have very thin skin.