tanning python skin

K

kenyapilot

Joined
Jun 28, 2013
Messages
1
godday,

i received a 4 meter long python skin a few days ago, was brought to me by a local ( kenyan). im not sure how well they scraped it but it was salted and the guy put more salt before he left me with it. i learned from your posts that salt is bad for the skin so im soaking it in clean water for a day, changing the water every few hours. i then intend to check the scraping and try to tan it with alcohol, glycerine and a bit of formaldehyde. its a beautiful skin and i hope i can safe it. any suggestions, comments?
 
The salt is used to dry the skin of excess moisture. It shouldn't be left on for long.
Alcohol & formaldehyde are used to store biological specimen in a wet state. I'm not sure they are great tanning agents, & I have no experience with snake skins.
While you are deciding what to do, I recommend keeping the skin very cool, as if you were storing food.
The worst thing about clean water is bacterial growth. Don't leave it there for long.
 
Can't help with any advice, my only experience was back in the 80's when a guy on my seismic survey crew tanned the hide of a taipan. I don't need to tell you that they were very careful in killing the thing!
 
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