Would I be able to salt dry a couple bird skulls to make them dry enough for my dermestid beetles to eat? I find that they clean it faster and it doesn't smell as bad if the skull is to a jerkey like consistancy. I usually just air dry them but am unable to find a spot for them right now (fly season). Please Help. Thanks.
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ya i have my bettles working to but i have had a hard time drying my skulls i had a chuck skull the other day that i had to wash the fly eggs off then i put it in a plastic see-through box and put it out side if anyone has a better idea i would like to know
A frost freezer will dry them out if they are put in unwrapped.
A better thought would be to put them in a dehydrator they same as you would jerky..should dry quickly without the salt.
Try drying in front of a fan,then freeze when they're as dry as you want.Fan should keep the flies off.
Easton, you need to get a printer and print out all the relevant posts in the archives and READ them. ALL the info is in there.
I'll give that a try today as it's pretty cool and not very humid and the flies aren't really out. Thanks for the Help.
It's a big old skull wive's tale that the beetles prefer their meals dried, and the skulls smell less only if the brain is removed. The only problems with fresh skulls occur if your colony is too small. The beetles clean the skull slower because of the colony size. Because of the extra time needed, fras develops moreso than on other skulls and it sticks to the moist skulls. Now even flesh-eating beetles can be picky, and they'd prefer not to eat through their own poop. So if you never want to dry skulls again, build up your colony. Rancid's method will work until your colony can clean them without this problem. And if you want your skulls to eat through their poop or clean the most disgusting skulls imaginable, there's a secret method for that too. I'm sure only a select few individuals on this site know it...