......hope to get a few out in MT in a few weeks. What is the best way to preserve them to bring back home? Anything special about skinning them?

extremely easy to skin and very little fat to scrape off. lay them flat and cover them with table salt rubbed all the way to the edge. after 24 hours change the salt and continue drying for another 24 hours. they will get very stiff but can be rolled up if necessary for transport home. there is a snake tanning kit you can buy from the taxidermy supply houses.it's a 2 part solution/process kit- costs about $10 as i recall and does 4-5 snakes depending on size. can't remember the name of the product but a google search should turn it up. works well enough for home use.

Unless your experienced at it, I'd cut off the head. Venom is venom and still dangerous. The body is easy; split down the middle to the tail section. That's where it will become a little tougher. Take your time and work the skin off the tail section. Cover any remaining flesh with Borax (20 Muleteam is fine). Work the Borax in a circular motion. This will assist in peeling away any tissue and membrane. Then roll the skin up and put into a clean jar. Cover the skin with antifreeze and close the lid tightly. This will "tan" the skin in 10 days or less but may slighly discolor the skin due to the dye. Otherwise, skin, Borax and roll up. Place in a zip lock bag and push all the air out before freezing. Do as jdollar suggests and buy a snake tan from McKensie or Cabela's.
David

quote:

Originally posted by Norton Anything special about skinning them?

Rubber gloves are key.

Thanks, gentlemen......I'll bring along the borax I have.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Lozano:

quote:

Originally posted by Norton Anything special about skinning them?

Rubber gloves are key.

why? i have skinned dozens without using them. what are they supposed to do? also i have used borax with equally good results- it's just that table salt is a little easier to obtain.

Seems I have heard of replacing the antifreeze with glycerin.

Everything I have ever seen about snakes has involved denatured alcohol and glycerin in a 50/50 mixture.

Skin the rattler but cutting off the head nad about 1 inch in front of the rattler. Cut the snake down the middle of the belly with a good race or whatever you want to use. My old buddy always used a pair of good scisors. After you get it cut down the middle, the meat and all the guts easily peel away. Once you get it all apart, we always used a simple kitchen butter knife and got all the flesh apart as best we could. Most of it comes off pretty easy. After its clean, take the hide and put it in a solution of the alcohol and glycerin. We used to put them in baggies and let the skin soak over night. After that would would lay it out on a cardboard plank, not stretch but just flatten it out on the cardboard. And once a day for 7 days we would apply a coating of the mixture. Once the 7th day comes you can do about what you want with it. Most of them we ever done was just for hanging on a wall. So a simple cardboard backing would be glued to the skin or sometimes wood.

If you want to make a belt or hat ring or something you going to have to actually tan the skin to you can bend it without loosing the scales. Also you should always consider using some kind of deodorizer in the future if it begins to smell a little. But like any taxidermy the hide should be throughly dried before placing inside for display.

I wish I had access to this forum 20 yrs ago. I was in the woods looking for Moonshine Still Operation when I topped a dirt road hill and from 300 yds saw a snake in the road. I appraoched it-was a Eastern Diamondback Rattler. Me in the woods with it Vs Greempeace-I shot it! It hung across the hood of a '86 Ford Crown Vic POlice Car from fender well opening to fender well opening! I took it the office, skinned it, then saleted and froze it. At a Major Deer Expo w/ Rattle Snake exhibiotrs they told me it was worthless salted! It got trashed. They must have been Democruds-screwing up the world!

I had skinned and made hat bands out of many a snake skin 20 some years ago. I had used the denatured alcohol/ glycerin method for a while until I found "Snake Tan" from Van Dyke's Taxidermy Supply which works great. After pulling the snake body out of the skin I used borax to work into the remaining tissue and meat of the skin which aided in its removal. For tougher spots, I gently used the side of a teaspoon, always working in the direction of the scales as to not lift or damage any.

Van Dykes Taxidermy Supplies
1-800-843-3320

Snake Tan 8 Oz
Catalog no: 108290
Item no: 01319135
$24.70
8 Oz
Snake Tan is a simple solution to preserving reptiles. It takes about 1 ounce to treat 48 inches of skin. Snake Tan comes with complete instructions. This product will produce longer-lasting skins that have more strength, more stretch and feel natural to the touch.

They sell a 4 oz. bottle, also.

Hope this helps,
Mary

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bubbinaor:
then saleted and froze it......they told me it was worthless salted! It got trashed. [QUOTE]

You cannot salt and freeze any skin. Salt prevents a skin from freezing and the inner most rolled part of your snake skin more than likely rotted in the freezer.