Hi could anyone tell me how long to leave a skull in the water to have it totally clean.I have checked the search button and I know to change the water once a week.Do you usually just go by sight of the skull or is their a set time.Thanks in advance John
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Everything is contingent on water temperature and bacteria growth. After about 3 weeks, I take it out and hose off what can be hosed off and remove any teeth that I can so they don't get misplaced. Then put it back in the soup and repeat every week. When it washes clean, you'll know.
Maceration:
Probably the easiest way to clean a skull, tho the smelliest and most time consuming. There are two ways to do this. This is my preferred method, either way.
1.) Place in a bucket of warm water with an aquarium heater on about 85 degrees and let it sit for a couple weeks covered, covering the bucket keeps the water from evaporating and having to add new water. When you get ready to remove the skull, the teeth will have fallen out (this is a GOOD thing, as the tooth cavities get clean also), so fish them out from the bottom of the bucket. Then rinse with clean water and the entire skull, including the brain and nasal cavities should be clean. If not, place back in the SAME water; this is important unless you want to start the process over again with creating bacteria in the water, and let sit another week or so. Repeat until the skull is completly free of tissue. Then degrease and whiten.
2.) Place in a ziplock bag and just let it rot in it's own juices in a warm place until it's done as in method #1. If you like 'natural' looking skulls with all the colors from cream to dark brown, this is the way to go. If not, then you can degrease and whiten as before.
Wolfie
How smelly is it when you use the second method of just putting them in a bag until the rot away? I have neighbors on both sides of me so I can't be stinking up the whole block, ya know!
Thanks
Charley