Dark Spots On Macerated Skulls

I am checking the inkbird thermostat on amazon, how do you attach a bulb to it? this one im looking at, a little confused. (Amazon.com: Inkbird ITC-308 Digital Temperature Controller 2-Stage Outlet Thermostat Heating and Cooling Mode Carboy Homebrew Fermenter Greenhouse Terrarium 110V 10A 1100W : Industrial & Scientific)

 

The lower jaws will separate and the front teeth will come out. As mentioned above, don't pour them out. You can glue the lowers back together and glue the teeth back in with white elmers glue after degreasing and whitening are finished.

 

Yep, you are. Macerating is water, nothing else. Take a look at two tutorials I put up. No soap, detergent, beer, ammonia or anything else added. Water and heat only.

 

I have seen those posts too and it is a waste of materials. Water, heat and let it rot. Nothing else needed. The more flesh you take off, the faster it goes.

 

Maceration will even strip the tissue out of the sockets and you will get loose teeth. Be careful not to lose them when you flush out the container. The teeth will sink to the bottom and stay there if you are careful flushing. What you do need to do is get a wire and fish out any remaining junk inside the hollow of the lower jaw. It doesn't flush out easily but you can drag out the material trapped inside with a bent wire. A soak in peroxide will dissolve out anything left after you have flushed it out the best you can. Set your teeth in place with a little Elmer's Glue. Line them up correctly and let them dry.

Getting a bulb and an electrical socket near water is not a good idea. Fish tank heater in the water is the best and safest method to use unless you step up to bucket heaters and a thermostat. The newer wrap around bucket/barrel heaters also work. Possibly a bulb is being used to heat an enclosure with a bucket inside? Considering the electrical use, it is much more cost efficient to run the fish tank heater in the bucket and insulate it all to keep the heat in.

 

Do you have the lamp in a closed space? Or just aimed at the water? Wattage of the bulb? Unless you have an enclosed box how do you manage to control the odor with open containers? I have found that, when I macerate in the hot box with the small electric heater, the humidity goes sky high and water is dripping off of every surface inside. Skulls are under the surface of the water in the containers but everything in there, including the ceramic heater, is wet from condensation.

 

OK. Along the lines of the hot box I built. Raised high spot is a safe place for the lamp too. Keeps it away from the water in the buckets. I just use a small ceramic room heater but it is also a larger space.

 

Thanks! I have one now degreasing it has really helped. It took about a week and a half maceration!