Dog Skull Maceration OR Another Disturbing Project by Bio [WARNING: GRAPHIC PICS!!!]

[pongo]

u may have already seen this, but this is what i did with mine. pretty cool to see the fish swimming in the orbits/arches and sinus cavities.

 

[Dexmaster]

Another very interesting thread cant wait to see what happens!

 

[BioHazard]

u may have already seen this, but this is what i did with mine. pretty cool to see the fish swimming in the orbits/arches and sinus cavities.

I wouldn't do that with this skull for 2 reasons. First, the skull is too 'fresh'. Fat will be trapped deep in the bone for many years, and I wouldn't want that leaking into the tank. As long as the bone has weathered enough, it isn't an issue, but this skull will not be weathered. The second reason is pH. The calcium carbonate in the bone would buffer the water up past the pH I would want.
Nice idea though. Great for african cichlids.

 

[snoopy65]

I used to have a deer skull and antler tank from deer my hubby and I shot years ago. You are right bio- great for fish that need high ph and hard water. Any other skulls you looking for? We harvest many types of animals and I would be happy to send you any heads you may want....of course you get to clean them.

 

[naliel]

Can you boiling it? May be faster and you and your family wouldn't have to smell that thing all summer long.

 

[BioHazard]

Can you boiling it? May be faster and you and your family wouldn't have to smell that thing all summer long.

Boiling is certainly another technique, but there are some issues with it. The skull is already mummified, and this would make the boiling take longer, and still smell unpleasant. The other issue is cracking. The heat tends to crack teeth, and can crack the braincase when flesh trapped inside expands.

 

[naliel]

Of course is going to smell (lol) but for a shorter period of time.
I have another idea. Is it possible for you to get the "meat eating beetles". I know they wouldn't eat the mommified (sp?) meat, but if you re-hydrated it they might do their work.

 

[BioHazard]

Of course is going to smell (lol) but for a shorter period of time.
I have another idea. Is it possible for you to get the "meat eating beetles". I know they wouldn't eat the mommified (sp?) meat, but if you re-hydrated it they might do their work.

Rehydrating helps to a certain extent, but the beetles are not nearly as efficient. They might eat more of the meat, but some would be left.
I used to work with the dermestid beetles, so I'm pretty well versed in how they work. I would have to resoak the specimen often to keep it moist enough for the beetles, and they would likely begin to feed on the bone before I could get everything soft enough.

 

[naliel]

All right, plan C.
Is it possible to get a fresh specimen?

 

[Ara]

Good luck with the skull.. !!

I attempted this once with a bat skull I found on an adventure on the woods.. but sadly, I tried the boiling method. Stupidly, I used a coated pot.. after several hours of boiling, I had a sickly grey soupy teflon & rotten flesh mess, a still flesh-covered skull, and an apartment that reaked like a morgue, so I had to abandon it. Sad too, the bat skull was a cool find..

I did not know aobut the method you are doing, so best of luck! =)