I have a few chinchillas I want to mount but the ears
are obviously too thin to split. Would I just tan them as is
and then card them to dry? Any advice would be great, thanks!
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Congratulations on picking a beautiful and challenging specie to mount.
Here's how I did it when I prepared mountable chinchillas.
The animals were skinned. All vulnerable areas were painted with a proprietary formulation of gluteraldehyde. Toes were injected with same formulation. Then the skins were tanned fully. The ears dried very stiff and did not curl. They are easy to rehydrate. Then you can card them to dry them to the desired position.
The problem you will have with mounting chinchilla is NOT the ears : it's the fur! They are very loose-rooted. You may end up pulling some fur out. It's not slipping, it's that you're pulling too hard. Be very gentle. Recommended you only mount the gray chinchillas at first because fur to patch bald spots is easily obtainable. Not so for the rarer mutations, well, not without a higher price tag.
chins- thanks for the advice! I'm a bit new to taxidermy, what is
gluteraldehyde and where do you get it? Is it some sort of resin?
please email me if you can, I don't check this forum too often.
Thanks- Denise
chins- thanks for the advice! I'm a bit new to taxidermy, what is
gluteraldehyde and where do you get it? Is it some sort of resin?
please email me if you can, I don't check this forum too often.
Thanks- Denise