Ok, here's the deal. I got a raccoon from taxidermy teacher last night for all intents and purposes of making a rug out it. It's the first mammal I'm attempting so I'm not expecting much out of it. I'm not doubting myself just not going to be real hard on myself if it's not perfect. I would just like to get it tanned and all skinned and turned by myself and I'll be 100% happy. My question is this: I'm aware of the diseases carried by these creatures and am taking all the necessary precautions. But today while checking its' thawing progress, I noticed a patch of hair that was missing from the right shoulder area. I've seen mange before and I'm not sure whether or not this is it. There is no sign of a wound or old wound in that spot, just missing hair. Any ideas? I come in contact with pets quite often and would hate to transfer this to someone's animal. Is there a more distinct way to tell if this is mange or not? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I haven't done anything to this animal so tossing it would be ok if it is mange for sure. Thanks in advance.
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you are looking at slippage and not mange but if you were dealing with mange, it's just a skin mite and all you need do is (as you should if you open any animal) is wear your latex or plastic gloves. Once you start the pickle/tanning process it should take care of any mites. In fact, if you froze the thing before working on it, chances are you'd take of it then. If you take ordinary precautions when working with animals, dead or alive, you usually don't have anything to worry about. And remember, parvo, rabies, and a multitude of other illnesses are just as easy to transfer from pet to pet as most of the things you worry about transferring from carcass to pet.
That makes me feel a little better. I took a close look at it and it did look like the hair just slipped out. Found some of the patch that was missing in the bag the thing was in. The hair was clumped together like it had slipped out.