I Found an injured 6' 10" Eastern Diamondback while hunting last season. Not wanting it to go to waste, I took it back to camp where I finished it off, gutted and skinned it. The meat has made a couple of big batches of tasty chili and since only the head was damaged (it looked like something big had stomped it)I rolled up the skin and put it in my freezer. After some research, I thawed the skin then fleshed it thoroughly with a flesher made from a dull, ultra-fine tooth hacksaw blade that I bent into a loop and taped to a hammer handle. I purchased one of Bruce Rittle's snake tanning kits and - following the instructions - pickled the skin. The skin is now tacked out and drying from the oiling process. I purchased a beautiful 1x12x8 foot cypress plank (I was hunting in a cypress head when I found her) for displaying the skin. The skin is in fantastic shape and I would like to preserve the appearance for a long time. I had the idea of embedding the skin on the cypress board using a polyurethane product or two-part epoxy similar to cypress clocks, tables, etc. Searching these forums, I found no referance to this procedure, sooo... has anyone done this or would I be better off sealing the wood, tacking the skin to it, and spraying a few coats of Envirotex (found in this forum and available through WASCO) on it? I've only seen a few snakeskins displayed on walls before and they always look dull, faded, and have scales peeling off and/or the edges curling. I would rather avoid this. Any ideas? Please reply as if I were a beginner...because I are one!
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Most of the snake skins you are seeing are not tanned,like yours is.I would finish the wood and attach the skin and call it goog.It should stay good for a long time,as it is.Keep it out of direct sun light.