Hello,I'm new to taxidermy and was woundering I see in some of the supply catalogs items such as Dan-D-noser and quick eye set tools.Are these items good to have around the shop or a waist of coin? I have also herd of people getting shots to prevent rabeis is this a common pratice or just paranoya. thanks for the help.
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Learn to do the nose and eyesets. One size doesn't fit all on anything in nature. As for the rabies shots, I wouldn't call it paranoia, but precaution. I once had them as I worked on a lot of foxes, raccoons, and skunks, but IF you were to become infected, your titer would have to be checked and you'd still require a booster shot. Your titer needs to be checked every year to ensure you're still protected. I double glove when working on those animals now and ensure that they've been frozen and thawed to add extra security. It's probably an extra cost that you could do without, but no one is going to tell you to NOT get them if you feel you need them.
oaktree, On the rabies shot......first time you work with say a fox and have an "event" (cut, splatter fox parts on you, it will happen)you are going to start thinking about how much you don't know about the individual critter on your work bench. You then have the decision to make, do you get shots, have the brain tested? Probably you just figure it's ok and go on about your work- should be fine but what if....?The way I see it, rabies has been eppidemic in my area and half the coons and foxes dead on the road are probably infected. Many attacks by animals on people and pets have been reported so I figure getting the shot is the only smart thing to do. Now, if I did not work on the critters commonly associated with rabies or if I lived in an area not experiencing a rabies situation I probably would not bother. In the end we just do what we think is right and hope for the best. If you choose to not get the shots George's suggestions on handling the potential threat seems like a good place to start to me. Always clean the blades you work with after each of these animals as well as you skinning table with bleach/water and take extra care with the leftovers. Enjoy, Aaron H.
I got one just for horrible repairs on the nose pad. I got in a deer that the nose pad was almost completely gone. The customer knew it and gave me the tool. It worked great under the circumstances.