/ Register

  1. Welcome to Taxidermy.net, Guest!
    We have put together a brief tutorial to help you with the site, click here to access it.

Cheap Way To Make Snake Form?

Discussion in 'Reptile Taxidermy' started by 101stcurrahee, Jul 28, 2020.

  1. Jul 28, 2020 #1
    101stcurrahee

    101stcurrahee Member

    34
    4
    Almost got tagged by a prairie rattlesnake last night while coyote hunting. unfortunately the only way I could silently dispatch him was with a big rock which put a few cuts in his skin.

    I really don’t want to pay over $60 for something that may not come out well. Is there a cheap way to make a striking pose form? A certain type of foam and wire maybe? Any tried-and-true methods for making snake forms on the cheap? He’s already skinned but I did measure nose to the start of the rattle at 41 inches
     
  3. Jul 28, 2020 #2
    jrandall71

    jrandall71 Member

    72
    60
    Unless you're good with carving foam and snake anatomy, your best bet of it looking decent is buying the form and eyes. Worst case scenario you don't like it you can find another snake to put on it.
     

  5. Jul 28, 2020 #3
    101stcurrahee

    101stcurrahee Member

    34
    4
    Is casting cheaper once you get the hang of it and buy the stuff?


    Buying forms online kills me. They are so expensive and then the shipping cost an arm and a leg which they won’t even tell you until after you buy it.


    True I could pull the skin back off but the chances of me finding another prairie rattlesnake at the exact same length is pretty slim. Plus I really like the idea of making reproductions that are an exact replica of the actual animal
     
  6. Jul 28, 2020 #4
    joeym

    joeym Old Murphey

    13,583
    7,845
    Chunky, Mississippi
    By the time you buy everything you need to cast specimens, you could buy a dozen snake forms, maybe more. There is a learning curve to casting, and without one-on-one training, as in seminars, you will waste a lot of material...and a lot of time, if time has any value to you. You can mount the snake for less than $100 in materials, or you can take it to a reptile taxidermist and pay 5 times that amount.
     
    Kerby Ross likes this.
  7. Jul 28, 2020 #5
    jrandall71

    jrandall71 Member

    72
    60
    Joeym is right. Good pourable silicone is going to cost you around $30 for a trial size and you haven't even bought the casting materials yet. Trial and error to figure it out and you could have bought the form 2x. Good thing about the form is it's easy to alter for length. Cheap was your key word so that's why I say the form. Casting by all means would be the better option but I'm afraid it'll cost more because of the learning curve. If you want to see some casting and foam carving options search for Kerby Ross. He has some really good tutorials on a skin mount rattlesnake and casting a kingsnake with GI products.
     
    101stcurrahee likes this.
  8. Jul 28, 2020 #6
    101stcurrahee

    101stcurrahee Member

    34
    4
    I've been talking to Kerby. He showed me his tutorial using bondo/resin. Pretty cheap so I bought some to try it. Snake carcass is filled with paper freezing now.


    I want to learn sooner or later so.
     
    rogerswildlife, jrandall71, Frank E. Kotula and 1 other person like this.