Any suggestions for getting the smell out of an elephant skull. This one is about 15 months old, since it arrived from Zim about 3 months ago it has been powerwashed a few times and sits outside on sunny days.

It still stinks!

Any suggestion.

BigB

BigB,

I clean my skulls by letting them soak in water for a long time. Bacteria eat away the grunge. Your skull may be too large to do this with, well if you can find a big enough container to completely submerge it. With winter coming on it may need to soak until the middle of next summer.

Warmer weather rots it faster. With smaller skulls I use a black 5 gallon pail which lets the water warm up real nice and helps the bacteria grow if you keep it in a sunny location.

Change the water periodically and when done add a small amount of laundry bleach to whiten it up.

It may not be the fastest method but it is cheap and easy.

This may seem odd but I am a firm believer in "Febreeze". Just spray a couple bottles of the stuff onto the skull and let it sit. To illustrate the powers of this product, let me tell you about how I once got home from a late season spring bear hunt on the day of garbage collection. Due to this, the remains of a skinned and butchered black bear carcass sat in my trash for a solid week of 100+ degree Utah days. Needless to say, it smelled amazingly bad and Febreeze actually took care of the smell completely. Believe me, if it worked so well in that situation, it will surely work in yours as nothing smells quite as bad as rotting bear.

JMHO,

JohnTheGreek

BigB

I have an elephant skull on my porch also. Didn't we touch on this before? Anyway perhaps the Befreeze would work but all that tissue in that honeycombed skull has just got to smell bad. Mine is not obnoxious unless you really get close to it but it is a very rank odor. I think your just going to have to put up with it.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by JohnTheGreek:
nothing smells quite as bad as rotting bear.

I wondered what ever became of my college roommate.

Ann,

I would sure need a big bucket, a 55 gallon drum will not fit.

John,

I will pick up some Febreeze tomorrow and try it.

Mark,

We discussed what to do with it, not the stink. The porch or outside is a good idea

What year was yours shot?

Thanks

Byron

YOu can throw it in a really big red ant pile and let them do the work! Probably not too practical unless you live in the SW.

The African way is to put it into the river or stream and as others have said let nature take its course.

I have a skull and have never noticed an odor. It sits on a covered porch and gets morning sun.

Maybe you and Mark shot stinky Elephants!!
Robert

BigB,

Perhaps you can make a container large enough by using a kiddie pool liner draped over a 2X4 frame? Dig a hole in your yard and line it with heavy plastic sheeting? Find some way to let it soak in water for a long time!

I am not sure why but I have never had success with Fabreeze. My dog quickly out stinks that stuff. It's just a cover scent anyway. Your problem is caused by tissue remaining in the skull.

I'm not recommending this because I have never personaly tried it but some friends of mine have a pond and they suspend deer skulls in the water. The pond creatures clean them right up.

Big B,

Follow Ann's advice, it will work. I have done the same type of treatment to hog skulls, and they came out just fine. Just do not use over 10% by volume of chlorox, as it can cause an oder problem too. Ann's idea of a kiddie pool liner and wooden frame sounds like a winner. At least as far as soaking an ele skull.

Hog Killer

It may be too old for the beetle cage. But beetles do the most fantastic skull cleaning job.

Contact these guys maybe they can help.

http://www.skulltaxidermy.com/

Ann's suggestion of the water method is a good one. Just plain water the first couple months, no chlorine. You want the bacteria to do its work chlorine will kill off the bacteria before it even gets started. Use a little chlorine only after the skull as soaked a long time in plain water. An elephant skull could take a long long time. I can't even guess.

The water method will eventually cause the teeth to drop out but you can epoxy those back in later. In fact the rotting dental nerve tissue may be a big part of what is stinking now.

I put a barracuda head in a mesh potato sack and submerged in in the Chatahoochie River for a good cleaning, Unfortunately, we had a big rain storm, and it washed away to points unknown!

Before soaking it as described above, take a drill and drill numerous holes into the center areas of the bones. If you plan a little, you can do the holes in places where they will not show. Pour some bleach water into those holes to help kill the bacteria deep inside the bones and then soak the skull.

Good luck!

JDS

I had read about the honeycomb structure of the skull, and that the bones were coated with jelly-like tissue. I'd had the impression the whole skull was filled with the stuff, but a kind gentleman from this forum disabused me of that mis-intelligence. Even so, there is still a lot of jelly-like tissue coating those bony honecomb structures. That was the first thing I thought of when you said the skull stank.

I have gotten several cow skulls clean by soaking them in clorox, so I will also vote for Ann and Hog Killer's advice.

I also figured that, to get the clorox into the tissues, you might need to drill some holes -- just like jds advocates.

At least, that's what I'd try...

[JDS, I like your signature quote!]


Dan

I've never done this on skulls so large, but I use hydrogen peroxide (30%) for a couple hours. You might try just pouring some 2% into all the openings, that's not strong enough to eat any bone apart and you can just let it dry away. Next day or so pour some more inside all openings inside. A pint is under a dollar in most grocery stores; the 30% stuff is a lot stronger and a lot more expensive, and will require you to wear rubber gloves or your skins turns instantly white -- should be able to find it at beauty shops. A couple hours or so with 30% is enough or it will start eating the bone away, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

All,

I just happen to have a swimming pool in the backyard. I wonder if I can convince the wife that the head needs to go for a swim until next spring.

If not I will look for or make a container.

Thanks

BigB

Try "Odo-Ban". Its taxidermist recommended.

You can get it at Sams, in the mop supply section. I'm currently using it on some elk skulls. Seems to be working!

BigB, You have a PM. Allen