Skull prep

[Franco]

What is the best process for removing flesh/hair/etc from a raccoon skull, and prep for display?

Thank you

 

[JimP]

Here is a PDF that I follow for most North American game animals.

I'd skin as much skin off of the skull as I could before you place it into the pot, you can also adjust the amount of Sal Soda to the size of the skull. I believe that you can also pick up a kit that includes most of what you need from the WWW. I just use baking soda.

It is in the instructions and while it is refereed to boiling a skull you never want the water to come to a boil, a good hot simmer is best. For a racoon you may have to do a few extra cooking times because of oils in the skull

 

[Zinz]

Boil it in salty water. I've always used a propane cooker outside (to keep the smell out of the house). A slow, rolling boil is all that is needed. After an hour or so, the meat and such should just fall off. Dental picks or something similar can help clean the tougher pieces from the nooks and crannies. Get all brain out and use tweezers to remove the cartilage from the sinuses. After the boiling, place the skull in hydrogen peroxide. Just the stuff you can get from the drug store is fine. I use disposable aluminum pans for this. Let it soak 24 hours. Take it out and clean any last bits with a pointy knife and let it dry outside.

I've done all sorts of skulls over the years and this method works for me. I'm sure others will have ideas as well. My skulls turn out with a beautiful bone color and not that bleached-white color. I think a lot of that comes from not boiling it too much and only using hydrogen peroxide (NEVER use bleach, it will destroy the bone)

Hope this helps,

Ed Z

 

[Zinz]

Some examples of mine.

This feral hog came out nicely.

Done lots of whitetails

Here’s a Red Hartebeest done in Namibia. The bone is very white, which can also be very nice.

Ed Z

 

[Hillcountry63]

I use a "Buck Boiler" with some Dawn dish soap for all my euro/skulls. It doesn't make the bone brittle like standard over boiling can do.

 

[Flbt]

What is the best process for removing flesh/hair/etc from a raccoon skull, and prep for display?

Thank you

Do you have fire ants? Put the skull in a fire ant bed
When they eat everything put it in peroxided from the drug store that all ways worked for me
Just need to put something over the ant bed to keep another varment form running off with it

 

[Flbt]

Ants and the proxiced

 

[JimP]

I like to use Basic White and 100% peroxide that you can get from a beauty supply store. Mix the basic white and peroxide to make a past and then paint it onto the skull, place in a plastic bag for a couple of days and then rinse it off.

But then I don't live in a area that has FIRE ants anymore, or I'd just use them

 

[Franco]

Thanks. We've got plenty of fire ants, I was actually going to try that before I posted my question. Mowed the field yesterday, so there's some fresh activity. On the subject of fire ants, any good techniques to get rid of them? I've used poison bait, but what seems to work best is a mixture of gasoline and diesel which I then ignite with my flame thrower.

I'll follow the other procedures after the ants are through.

 

[JimP]

Years ago I pulled into a campsite the first of summer. Right where a friend usually parked and put his rug out for his trailer was a large ant bed. Well, I had time and I also had some chainsaw gas already mixed up with oil so I dumped about half a gallon onto that ant bed and set it on fire after a few minutes of a good soak. I then got the chair out and proceeded to have a few cold beers while I watched my small fire burn itself out. It took about 30 or so minutes before it finally ran out of fuel and there wasn't a single ant to be seen. My friend showed up a couple of hours later and there still wasn't a ant around. Well, he got all set up and we had a good 4 days of playing around in the desert. When he rolled up that carpet there underneath it was a ant bed with plenty of ants.

 

[Russ16]

Do you have fire ants? Put the skull in a fire ant bed
When they eat everything put it in peroxided from the drug store that all ways worked for me
Just need to put something over the ant bed to keep another varment form running off with it

This works well. I know of a taxidermist who uses beetles in his shop.

 

[Russ16]

Google gave me this. Give it a try I’d like to know how it works.

Buy Dermestid Beetle Kits - Skull Taxidermy

Dermestid Beetles do all the work when it comes to skull cleaning. Our Dermestid Beetle Kits offer customers the opportunity to start their own colony.

skulltaxidermy.com

 

[Zinz]

Google gave me this. Give it a try I’d like to know how it works.

I wouldn’t unless you want them destroying your taxidermy if they get loose in your house. We are talking about them right now on this thread:

S

Post in thread 'Bugs in Taxidermy Mounts'

Mar 18, 2025

Initially, I took all my mounts outside and with the Mount Saver mixed in a small spray bottle, I misted the spray all over each mount, paying attention to the bases of horns and any pinholes I could find in the horns. For large antelope like Kudu or Eland, I removed the horns and sprayed up inside them. Mount Saver does have a slight pesticide smell, but it goes away quickly enough. A small price to pay against the cost of fine taxidermy.

So did you just mist the Mount Saver on all your mounts and that killed the active bug problem?

Mount Medix, to treat active problems...

• Sabre

Ed

 

[buck wild]

I like to use Basic White and 100% peroxide that you can get from a beauty supply store.

100% Peroxide ???? That would burn a hole through the plastic bottle . The highest concentration I've seen OTC is 50%. My buddy got ahold of some "commercial" strength peroxide back in the 90s. He forgot a couple of skulls in the solution overnight and came out the next day to find his skulls were dissolved entirely away and his whole garage tinted white from the fumes

Morale of the story- be careful with this stuff!

 

[Sarg]

100% Peroxide ???? That would burn a hole through the plastic bottle . The highest concentration I've seen OTC is 50%. My buddy got ahold of some "commercial" strength peroxide back in the 90s. He forgot a couple of skulls in the solution overnight and came out the next day to find his skulls were dissolved entirely away and his whole garage tinted white from the fumes

Morale of the story- be careful with this stuff!

You are so right on that, we have 50% industrial grade in SA & will near take your fingers off, makes the boys very lazy, just get it near enough clean & the 50% will fix it up !

I have 30% & it’s good, wouldn’t leave anything in it overnight or too low.

I did damage my eyes by pouring it on a very dirty skull & the fumes/gas washed over me, lesson learnt !

Wish I had some where I’m at now but nothing like that here.

 

[JimP]

100% Peroxide ???? That would burn a hole through the plastic bottle . The highest concentration I've seen OTC is 50%. My buddy got ahold of some "commercial" strength peroxide back in the 90s. He forgot a couple of skulls in the solution overnight and came out the next day to find his skulls were dissolved entirely away and his whole garage tinted white from the fumes

Morale of the story- be careful with this stuff!

OK, it might be 50% or so, I'll have to go out to the garage to see.

It is a higher concentration than is normally available in the majority of stores where only the beauty supply store sell it, and the last time that I picked some up I was questioned on what I was going to use it for.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

"40 volume" peroxide is what we use to mix with Clairol whitener to make a paste to paint skulls.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

OK, it might be 50% or so, I'll have to go out to the garage to see.

It is a higher concentration than is normally available in the majority of stores where only the beauty supply store sell it, and the last time that I picked some up I was questioned on what I was going to use it for.

Yes, I'm told it is an ingredient in some homemade bombs. Kind of a semi-controlled substance. It's hard to acquire in large quantities for that reason.

 

[Flbt]

Thanks. We've got plenty of fire ants, I was actually going to try that before I posted my question. Mowed the field yesterday, so there's some fresh activity. On the subject of fire ants, any good techniques to get rid of them? I've used poison bait, but what seems to work best is a mixture of gasoline and diesel which I then ignite with my flame thrower.

I'll follow the other procedures after the ants are through.

Your way for burning them is the best. But depending on where you are at would not really say anything about putting gas or diesel on the ground.

My dad was giving a poison years ago by one of his pest control buddy’s it worked very well.
But the reason it was give to him was the pest guy could no longer use it.
I don’t think me saying anything now will mater because they both been gone more than 13 years

 

[JimP]

Yep, years ago we had pesticides and herbicides that did a fantastic job of getting rid of pest and plants that we didn't want.

Too bad when they caused you to have strange growths on your body before they would rot off.