I did a search on deodorizing skulls, but came up with only deodorizing horns. Can i use the same methods? I FINALLY got a cleaned coyote, but it was cleaned with dermistide beetles and there are still dead beetle larva stuck in the olfactory cavity. And it STINKS! the smell gets on my hands. There are areas wher ethe bone looks dark and oily too. Can the oils be removed? Can the odor be removed? I have never dealt with skulls or skull cleaning before so this is new to me.
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I would soak it in heated water with liquid clothes detergent or dawn. Heat/mild simmer not boiled for 30 minutes or so and let it set til the water cools. This will help get fat deposits, oils, and dead bugs off the skull. Rinse with hot water and then allow it to dry in a shaded area (this makes drying slow, preventing bone separation), and then whiten and put in direct sunlight. It should smell much better after all this. I have put a few drops of Tap-A-Drop (from Van Dyke) in the brain cavity. This emits a strong mint aroma, which is much better than stinking. Be sure to keep up with the teeth...they will come out while soaking and will need to be glued back in.
GINA..bless your heart! i know what you are going through. ok..do as joey said and cook the skull. do not bring to boil..just under, and i might suggest a 1" wide new paint brush. get you a good soap bath..warm water and dawn dishwashing liquid..blue is great. smells nice too! once you have got the skull cooking..take it out often wand wash it using the paint brush and dawwn liquid bath. scrub it good but not so much it get's damaged. once you have removed the larva and what lttle meat remained..heres what you do! rinse the skull good and allow to air dry. recover the missing teeth (if any) and glue them back in place. now here comes the fun part. go to your local hair salon..beauty shop what ever they are called there and ask them for a bottle of 30% peroxide liquid and a bottle of 30% peroxide cream. once you have those items..get you some pure white paper towels..no name brand (generic) is good and cheap! put on a pair of latex gloves..unless you dont mind white fingers! lol! put the clear peroxide liquid in a spray bottle and spray the entire skull soaking it down. get all opening as well and teeth. now, still got that paint brush? good! pour the peroxide cream into a bowl and using the paint brush, dip and brush the peroxide cream all over the skull...every entry and exit and teeth. cover the entire skull with the white paper twols..not too many now! just enough to cover the skull..1 or two layers..that's it. now take your spray bottle and spray the liquid peroxide on the paper towles soaking them good..whew! this is taking a while..and spell check is killing me here!lmao! okie-dokie..ya with me still? ok..now take the wrapped up skull and place it into a black plastic garbage bag..work all the air out and tape it tight against the skull. place the skull and bag in a cool dry spot and let stand for 3 or 4 days. i prefere 4. after 4 days..unrap the head and wash with clear water. again allow the skull to dry. its done..thats it! if you want to seal the skull..well take your spray bottle again and add a 50/50 mix of white elmers glue and water. shake the bottle up well mixing the 2 together. hang the skull up somewhere and put paper towles under it. spray the water glue mixture all over the skull and allow to drip dry. all you have to do then is feather dust it once in a while. whew! i'm done! hope this helps. jim starr
Thanks Joey, thanks Jim! I am going to copy and past all that and save it! I am going to get on that right away! Thanks again and God Bless!