Hi,
I know nothing about this. I found a small dead animal (i actually saw it die) that I would like to preserve. I already put it in the freezer (I saw from some of the blogs that I should freeze it to kill off anything that may be living in it). I am just not sure what I am supposed to do next: what materials I should use to preserve it. I am not looking to stuff it (it is really small, about the size of a bat). I would like to hang it up (like they do with butterflies), but I am not sure what I should be using on it. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Return to Beginners Category Menu
If we knew what it was. Not all small animals are treated the same. There's alot of different ways, so tell us what it is and we might be able to help.
Is it smaller than a coffee can but larger than a pencil?
I would guess its some kind of small bird and Bobby doesnt want the authorities to know what he/she has got. just a guess but might be a good one
It really is kind of crucial to know what kind of small animal it is in order to give you an accurate piece of advice, regarding what to do. Because it sounds like it's small I would guess freeze drying would be an option. I have no experience with the process myself but at the top of this page there is a link to "suppliers" and you can find contact information for people who have the expertise and equipment to handle that kind of thing. If it isn't something that can be freeze dried, the very strong possibility is that it WILL have to be "stuffed", whether by yourself or someone else. That's just the nature of the game in preserving previously living organisms of any size at all.
If you watched it die, it is posible that it could have died from a diesease that you could be infected by. How did it die?
What is it? You are playing Russian roulet if you ask me.
It was really hot out here for the last week. It was alive and on a tree in the middle of the day. For two days it was leaving the tree and coming back. Then today it died. I am not sure really why it died. I did touch it with my hand to put it in the bag, but I sanitized my hands right after. When I brought it home, I put rubber gloves on. I put alcohol on it, washed it off, and put it in the freezer.
If this is a bat you are talking about, then you better march over to your local wildlife office IMMEDIATELY. Bats carry rabbies, which is highly contagious. There is a very good chance your bat died from that. The bat needs to be tested, and you most likely will have to go through a series of rabbies shots yourself. This is not a game, your life could be at risk here.
IF its a bat all you gots to do man is take it out of tha freezer and keep it inside near a winder and let it dry thats all you gotta do. Im not sure why this works but it will thats the easest thing to do.