I love skeletons, and have three pretend human ones I call Tom, **** and Harry sitting in my lounge room in the 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' pose... BUT... I digress.

 

My workplace back onto paddocks/empty land (aside from some trees and weeds). Recently there was some ground disturbing works and we had massive wild mouse problems. This has since eased, but one of my fellow works came apon a very well preserved mouse skelton in our back yard area. I've googled some pictures, and it appears I'm missing most of the arm bones and ribs but have most of the others... you can see it's teath and feet, and it's vetebrae and so tiny... I'll head outside at work tomorrow and see if I can find any more, but the backyard it covered in stones, so it will be hard. I'm happy to post photos if anyone wants. My main question is how to clean them??? They smell a little and their is quite a bit of hair still on them, particulaly the leg bones. They are so fragile, I don't want to handle them too much. From my school biology days, I remember that you can soak them in something that will eat away at everything but the bones. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Edited March 25, 201015 yr by maesie

So I am not the only with a weird passion for skeletons. Don't have many left anymore just a steer head next to front door, 1 goat and a couple of rams skulls. I have a horses' hoof that I use as a paper weight. Use to have horses, dogs, cats, roos, lizard heads, full fox skeleton....you get the drift. Gee now I'm digressing.

 

Small skeletons like mice have the most fragile small bones that are so easy to miss/lose. You need to scope up skeleton with dirt and put through a fine sieve.

 

As for cleaning the professional use boiling techniques for large bones but is messy and smelling. Ants do a marvelous job but can walk off with the smaller bones. Dermastid beetles are frequently used in museums. These can sometimes be found in bird rooms within nest boxes. They are found in the wild in nesting areas or areas like caves (under the guano (bat poo)) where they feed on dead animals. They are natures little clean up crew.

So I am not the only with a weird passion for skeletons. Don't have many left anymore just a steer head next to front door, 1 goat and a couple of rams skulls. I have a horses' hoof that I use as a paper weight. Use to have horses, dogs, cats, roos, lizard heads, full fox skeleton....you get the drift. Gee now I'm digressing.

 

Small skeletons like mice have the most fragile small bones that are so easy to miss/lose. You need to scope up skeleton with dirt and put through a fine sieve.

 

As for cleaning the professional use boiling techniques for large bones but is messy and smelling. Ants do a marvelous job but can walk off with the smaller bones. Dermastid beetles are frequently used in museums. These can sometimes be found in bird rooms within nest boxes. They are found in the wild in nesting areas or areas like caves (under the guano (bat poo)) where they feed on dead animals. They are natures little clean up crew.

 

 

Nope... you're not alone Thanks for that quick reply. Your horse hoof paper weight sounds fab!!! I'm guessing most of the other bones were taken away by ants as we have them in the millions out the back too. I'll scoop up the soil from where the mouse was laying and see what I find. It was bizare as it's skeleton was just laying there on its side, and the fur was surrouding it... like it had fallen off

 

I found info online that says to soak it in water in a warm spot, periodically replace water as needed... when it runs clear, soak the bones in regular strength hydrogen peroxide (to whiten and sterilise bones). What are your thoughts on this process?

snap on the weird frount here lol

 

if you get a rat or mouse from dead you can burry it in lime and place in sand well sand then hole then lime under and on and then sand and then leave few months then come back to a beautiful clean bone structiour

 

when i was a kid i use to collect pics eyes cats dogs birds any small animals eyes really

dead everything and burry and wait then gently brush sand away

i will ask my brother exactly what we did

and let you know

 

i still got a fox jaw a cow scull a birds wing bone structure a crow bones

amoungst other small things fossles in amber ect

So I am not the only with a weird passion for skeletons. Don't have many left anymore just a steer head next to front door, 1 goat and a couple of rams skulls. I have a horses' hoof that I use as a paper weight. Use to have horses, dogs, cats, roos, lizard heads, full fox skeleton....you get the drift. Gee now I'm digressing.

 

Small skeletons like mice have the most fragile small bones that are so easy to miss/lose. You need to scope up skeleton with dirt and put through a fine sieve.

 

As for cleaning the professional use boiling techniques for large bones but is messy and smelling. Ants do a marvelous job but can walk off with the smaller bones. Dermastid beetles are frequently used in museums. These can sometimes be found in bird rooms within nest boxes. They are found in the wild in nesting areas or areas like caves (under the guano (bat poo)) where they feed on dead animals. They are natures little clean up crew.

 

 

Nope... you're not alone Thanks for that quick reply. Your horse hoof paper weight sounds fab!!! I'm guessing most of the other bones were taken away by ants as we have them in the millions out the back too. I'll scoop up the soil from where the mouse was laying and see what I find. It was bizare as it's skeleton was just laying there on its side, and the fur was surrouding it... like it had fallen off

 

I found info online that says to soak it in water in a warm spot, periodically replace water as needed... when it runs clear, soak the bones in regular strength hydrogen peroxide (to whiten and sterilise bones). What are your thoughts on this process?

Thanks GB... there's not a whole lot of fur on it. There is some loose stuff which I've been able to blow/pull off. The only place where there is actual fur is the heal of one foot, and the end of the tail. Here are some photos of the skeleton. I also have the bottom jaw, but it's hard to see in the group shot and the photo with the whole skull didn't turn out clear enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is cool yet gross at the same time... :rofl: My eyes are saying, "That's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!" my stomach is saying, "ummm thats a filthy, disgusting, dirty mouse."

That is cool yet gross at the same time... :rofl: My eyes are saying, "That's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!" my stomach is saying, "ummm thats a filthy, disgusting, dirty mouse."

 

:rofl: I was in two minds about it too... but technically it's no longer a 'filthy, disgusting, dirty mouse' as you put it. More so a skelton of a former living being (and the beginning of a funky piece of artwork for my house) Think outside the square JB... it makes everything okay!!!

i hate squares

 

 

meal worms

are the deal

they polish the bones

 

their cheep from pet

 

my bro says the best way to get a clean bone work is to get freash dead creatchure and put in a clean tub let it get fly blown

let the maggots eat the fleash away then when flys fly off buy some meal worms cover with mealworms and dirt for a month then after that should be clean bones

 

thats what we use to do my bro say

the lime thing i read in my sons seiance class book but cant recal where

i will look for it

 

 

by way iits cool as

have fun glueing it together

That is cool yet gross at the same time... :rofl: My eyes are saying, "That's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!" my stomach is saying, "ummm thats a filthy, disgusting, dirty mouse."

 

:rofl: I was in two minds about it too... but technically it's no longer a 'filthy, disgusting, dirty mouse' as you put it. More so a skelton of a former living being (and the beginning of a funky piece of artwork for my house) Think outside the square JB... it makes everything okay!!!

You are definitely not alone. l also love looking at and examining skeletons.

Very cool pictures Maesie.

Edited March 27, 201015 yr by birdluv

next mouse I catch in a trap I'll send it off in the mail...

:hap: :doh:

next mouse I catch in a trap I'll send it off in the mail... :hap:

Hey Great Photo Maes.

 

Grab the tweezers you can often pull/scrape off the dried meat and fur then just clean them in some warm soapy water and then peroxide

Soak them in water is best and let it rot off its the bacteria thats needed so dont add salt,bleach etc to the water, simmering can work- dont boil, it does change the surface of bone. A taxidermist told me not to boil my heads to get the meat off but if I didnt want to wait for the water method to simmer them.

 

A friend of mines daughter in the states had to put a skeleton together for school assignment. When an owl eats them it doesnt digest the bones and regurgitates it in a lump of muck later.They get the muck and a skeleton diagram and then they put it together.

I'll see if she'll let me put the finished pics up- its clean

what do you use to keep the bones from decomposing? wouldn't they gradually disintergrat into nothingness? (I know I'm showing my ignorence here, go easy )