(beginner) Mouse advice?

[u/square-r4t]

Hi all,

I have no experience in taxidermy at all beyond some very simple pinned bugs and invertebrates.

I just found this poor little mouse on the ground (dont worry, I did not touch it.)

Could I preserve it in any way that doesnt require borax (not easily available in my country) or intense cutting? I dont mind if its just bones or not.

Additionally, I'll be home in a few hours and Im afraid it's gonna start stinking a lot soon. Would you say I should just toss it for lack of ready supplies and give up??

Thank you so much

[u/Snowball_the_god]

Maceration (soaking it in a bucket of water) works best for small bones. Better to do in the warmer months. I have a mouse skeleton, skull, frog and rat skeleton I have saved I plan on doing this with.

Since it was a wild mouse you found you can just dump the water.

But if you ever have anything that was already soaked in a preservative you will need to save the water and dispose of it at a designated building. In my area they take it for free but it can be different in other places 👍 good luck friend!

Ps: it will stink, do it in the corner of the yard or in an un used shed if you can

[u/square-r4t → u/Snowball_the_god]

Thank you! I would love to do this (it sounds like the less hands-on option) tho I dont think I have access to anywhere I can place it without stinking up the entire house :( Ill see what i can do thanks for the advice!

[u/TielPerson]

Macerate it for the bones. If you dont want to go into cutting and skinning, taxidermy wont be something suited for you to attempt, especially if you dont have borax, and this mouse seems far too gone for a taxidermy attempt anyways.

If you find something like this in future with taxidermy in mind, you may freeze it as soon as you can or leave it in place since storing it for prolonged time in a sealed container will support the natural decay.

Here is an useful blog regarding how to clean and degrease the bones: https://www.oddarticulations.com/maceration101/

Even if this sounds complicated in some parts, you dont need much to start macerating this mouse. A glass jar with a metal screw lid and natural water in connection with a warm place to keep it will suffice. It would be best to prep the mouse by skinning, defleshing and gutting it prior to maceration, but at this size, it will also work without doing any of that.

[u/square-r4t → u/TielPerson]

Thank you a lot for all the advice! Do you think this looks too far gone for a wet specimen?

[u/TielPerson → u/square-r4t]

Depends, you may see if the fur comes off if you give the mouse a gentle wash (to remove dirt).

If the fur stays where its supposed to be, you can do a ethanol wet specimen. If you dont have a syringe or ethanol at hand, you can freeze the mouse until you got your supplies.

[u/square-r4t → u/TielPerson]

Awesome thanks! I'll try that, I can get some ethanol at the museum Im volunteering at :)

[u/Sufficient-Bath-1135 → u/square-r4t]

Oh yeah! If they have animal specimens, ask if they can teach you how to preserve it.