hi just wondering if anyone had any advice of how i would go about making a porcupine rug to hang on the wall, any skinning and fleshing advice would be helpfull as i hear they can be extremely greasy and there are problems with hair slippage
Return to Lifesize Mammal Taxidermy Category Menu
exactly like porcupines have sex VERY CAREFULLY. seriously
What slips is the quills. The quills do not have roots like the hair and are just barely anchored in the skin. If you send it off to a tannery for a soft tan like you would need for a wallhanging, your porcupine would be quill-less so to speak, as all the quills would fall out during the tumbling process.
On the skinning and fleshing process, yes you have to be careful. I usually wear thick leather gloves when I skin them and use pliers to hold the skin back rather then my fingers. For the rug make a bellycut. Flesh carefully to remove all flesh and fat and tan it up yourself (I personally like the one hour tan from Authentic Supply).
If you tan it yourself you will get a stiff hide out of it, but if you lay it out nicely for it to dry, it would keep its shape on the wall and look like a streched out porcupine hanging on the wall. Probably would look pretty cool though.