Gator Skull Tutorial - Step by step.

Nah. Just kidding. I have one but not that big. It's very impressive and you should be proud of it.

 

I have a big one that fell apart , took me 2 nights to get it back together. I just have the teeth to go. It was completely dry when it went back together should i resoak it in water then let dry so they stay locked then seal.
Thanks Tom

 

I just finished putting a gator back together last night for a customer and have to whiten him this evening. I have another macerating now and about 4 more to do for clients. I like to do one at a time because they do tend to fall apart and all the teeth are pulled........dont want to mix them up! LOL

I may have a few gator skulls to sell. I have a client that hasnt picked up three of them and it is going on a year now. I also have several more in the freezer that I got from a local buyer. Not sure the Louisiana regulations on selling or gifting a gator skull. I have all the tag numbers and paperwork.

 

Tom, if the pieces all went back together dry, fit them back together again with a little bit of Elmer's white glue in each joint. You can try piecing it together wet but if they are that loose, they might just all be just as loose when dry and fall apart again. Try the wet fit and see if it stays. If not use the Elmer's and do just a few at a time unless you can glue them all and then use Zip ties and or uncolored rubber bands to keep everything from shifting and tight together until the glue dries.

 

Sea Wolf, I wanted to see if I could get it back together so I let it dry 1st
Now I see some bone that are not tight together and was wondering if I resort would the gaps close up. If they do then I would try to get glue in between them so they will not move while completely drying

 

Im curious, would you guys go about the same methods to save the teeth if it were a small gator skull? Like say, 4-5 inches?

 

For something that small I probably would bug it. For the teeth ? Maybe do what I have done with dolphins and porpoise. I take latex mold builder and brush on several coats on the dry teeth as they are in the jaw. I make sure that not only are the teeth covered but the spaces between them too. I let it dry and cure before macerating and degreasing. Even if the teeth loosen and fall out, they are all held in position and in the right order. If the strip of teeth comes loose from the jaw, I put it aside. When the skull is done and assembled, I put each row of teeth back in the sockets and glue. When the glue is dry, I remove the strip of latex leaving the teeth all in the right sockets and in the position they were in as in life.

 

I just realized how freaking huge that thing is

 

Cutting yourself while prepping a skull or handling wildlife parts in general is when you are at the greatest risk of infection. The bacteria will directly enter your bloodstream. I recall on the forum here and elsewhere on some hunting forums people debate wearing gloves vs. not wearing them. Now I personally think its a good idea for everyone to wear gloves when handling wildlife but even more important is being careful not to cut yourself. As a cut will go through the glove and directly open up your bloodstream to bacteria/infection.

Please excuse my ignorance, as I have zero experience with gators. But I have heard that they are a host to many bacteria- their very skin and especially mouth and I have seen people on youtube for this very reason scrubbing whole gators with bleach and water before starting to skin/process them. Have you ever tried this and does it help at all? Perhaps even instead of bleach weaker peroxide and a plastic brush with nylon bristles could be used to scrub down a head in an attempt to disinfect it to some degree?

 

So the final product? How did it come out?

 

Send me a full size, good quality picture and I'll put it here for you. File size isn't a problem. sea.wolf@verizon.net The bigger and better the picture the better it looks on here.

 

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Here is is. Well done. I wish I had it on my shelf. Incredible beast.