i was hoping to do a rattlesnake for a show. i took it out of the freezer and thawed it in the fridge on a towel. after it thawed, i noticed the skin on the face was peeling off like it is shedding. should i bother doing it for the show or no? any way to fix it? i haven't even skinned or tanned it yet.
thanks
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Best to get a really good specimen if it is for competition. Why make it harder on you then you should. It would be ok for a customer mount, but for competiton I would only use a grade A snake with exceptional skin.
You wouldn't use a WT cape for competition that has bald spots, would you?
In order for reptiles of all kinds to grow, they need to shed the skin on a routine basis. What you are seeing, more than likley, that the specimens was about to shed the skin, revealing the fresh layer. I disagree with Evelyn in that I would suggest it is a better specimen to mount for an exhibit. Mount as usual, and as the specimen dries the remaining outside layer will become translucent, and without much effort come off revealing the fresh skin. The colors will be a bit better than an old skin, but will still need to be re-touched with paint. Each rattle of a rattlesnake represents a shedding of the snake as they are born with only a button. If the rattle is broken during life and accurate count of shedding is not able to be done though - but if it has 20 rattles, it shed at least 20 times. This doesn't translate to lenght of life though.
Good luck!
When the snake skin slips, it generally starts around the mouth (as you would expect) and is difficult to work with. If you remove the shedding skin and continue to mount, it will not dry the same as the rest, and will not look right. For a customer mount, leave the skin in place as much as you can, mount, and let it dry. It can then be removed and then you can put your finishing skills to the test. For a competition piece, use another skin.