Fancy mouse breeder looking for taxidermy tips

Hello,

My name is Don, and I breed fancy mice in the New Jersey area for pet stores and privately owned animals.

I'm looking to expand my meager business, and I'd like to learn how to perform taxidermy on some mice to give to pet stores as favors.

I have basic knowledge about taxidermy, and have practiced skinning some of them.

What I'm looking for are any instructions, tips, websites, pictures or any other resources that I can use to learn how to skin and mount my own mice (and make them look decent enough for display).

Thanks!

-Don-

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Mice

Try this http://www.AmysTaxidermy.com/ and click on skinning pictures and then click start pictures

Not a good idea

Don , why you may think this is a nice idea , people who sell live animals dont want to have a dead one in their business for customers to sell. They want you to believe their animals never die . You better ask before you do it . Also whats makes you think you can learn to do taxidermy good enough to display your mice in such a short time ? It takes years and years of practice . Rick

Birdman & Don

It's no different then the fox ranch that posts up here occasionally selling both living pups for pets and breeding, urine for bait, and dead ones for taxidermy. This guy isn't a retailer per se - he's a distributor of mice both to pet shops and individuals.
He never said he showed off his mice to anyone.
Most larger mouse breeders actually keep their stock behind protective isolation barriers away from the public for the safety of the mice.

Many extra-mediocre taxidermists and people who purchase taxidermy services from these people display their wares proudly; his will to display his items is no different then yours, regardless of skill level.

Don, your realistic, fastest, best bet is freeze-dry. Send them to a place like Anthony Eddy or Hide and Beak. Just freeze-dry them and give them away. You might want to work on your marketing before you work on your product. Your idea seems to be only slightly thought out. Gather demand before supply. Mouse-Angel on eBay has your market by the nose; don't hope to be better within 5 years.

Fancy Mouse Breeder

Don,

Deerman is a jerk, follow your dreams...you'll learn from your mistakes. I do agree with the second gentleman. Find a mentor and test market everything you do! Good luck! I too am a beginner.

Who's the jerk?

I thought Deerman was nice. NewBirdMan wasn't.

Plus I don't want to sell them - just give them away kind of like a promo.

Not a big deal - all the live ones (and frozen ones) wind up as pet snake meat anyway!

Thanks for the suggestions! I can't believe that girl is 19 years old and making the kind of mounts she does. That's some talent she's got!

Any more suggestions?

Anybody like me trying to do this -

Wow! I went to AmysTaxidermy.com and saw the rat skinning instructions. That's very close to what I did (I practiced on three mice).

My mistakes were:
I didn't skin all the way down to the toes, rather I left the foot intact which resulted in floppy feet when I put the skin on the forms.

I didn't pull out the tail bone either which made it turn color and stink.

I tried using salt and then tried powdered dessicant to leech moisture from the skin. Amy says to stretch it out and pin it down, rub it with salt and then borax (I never would have thought of that). After that, she said, it would be ready to mount.

I also tried making the form with modeling clay, but I didn't like how it would never dry and would always be squishy. Perhaps I'll try something like carving the mouse form from a wad of that expanding foam caulk (called Great Stuff), or I'll try the clay again, but I'll use a type that hardens.

Now, I'll have to give it another shot using the borax, a better form, and some of that embalming fluid to inject into the feet and nose. Maybe if it turns out well, I'll come back and post some pictures for some constructive criticism.

Thanks for the good start and I'll be checking back for any other tips.

-Don-

DON,

Try carving it from a more dense foam, any deer shoulder form should work and should give you quite a few mice forms.

Sounds good

A more dense foam... Ok, I'll have to try it.

There's a real nice taxidermist not too far away from me. Next time I drive out to get some lab chow, I'll stop by there and see if he has some pieces leftover so I can practice. He'll probably know where I can get a little of that embalming fluid Amy was talking about on her site.

I'll give this a shot over the weekend probably. Only thing I'm worried about is the ears drying up and shriveling. They're paper-thin.

Thanks for the tip!