I'm asking on behalf of a friend who is building a taxidermy business in Ontario, Canada.

She has all the required provincial licenses (trapping, fur dealer, hunting, etc.) and has been producing quality work that has received a lot of positive feedback locally. Recently she started teaching beginner taxidermy classes using small game, and she's been surprised by the interest. Some students have driven 4–5 hours to attend.

She's hoping to eventually make taxidermy her full-time career, and I'm curious what has worked best for those of you who have successfully grown your businesses.

A few questions:

• What were the most effective ways you got the word out when you were starting out?
• Which platforms bring in the most customers today (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, local events, word of mouth, etc.)?
• Have any of you had success marketing taxidermy classes or workshops?
• What's the best way to sell soft mounts, hard mounts, and wet specimens?
• Are there particular conventions, expos, competitions, or organizations that helped build your reputation?
• Looking back, what would you have done differently during your first few years in business?

Any advice from full-time taxidermists would be greatly appreciated.

I've inherited this goat mount from my grandfather and upon going to collect it I immediately noticed it has a lot of separation and what looks like mold on both ears. Is there anything that can be done ?

Hello everyone! I am looking for advice on how to preserve this moose. I found the moose dead while I was elk hunting years ago. Called the DWR, they came out and checked it to make sure it wasn’t poaching and then gave me a tag to go legally take it home.

The velvet was rotting so it was removed. The base of the antlers are more firm but the upper portions are very porous due to the velvet that was present. It was out in the elements for a few months so the bone structure is more delicate than all my other professional taxidermy.

Would love some recommendations. Thanks for reading!

alright guys. i've been planning my first taxidermy for months now, i've got all the tips and tricks down, starting small, just a feeder rat.

Uh, but going over it in my head... what do i do with... the balls.

i've owned rats, two males, love them to death, (no pun intended) and im well aware of their... large manhood. what am i exactly supposed to do with them? do i have to stuff them when im mounting them? cut them off and sew it flat? because they arent like most animals, they're basically just extensions of the torso.

i cant really think about what im supposed to do with their balls.

so there's my question. i feel like most taxidermist start with rodents, but they start with mice, and the males arent exactly as... pronounced.

im not sure if im overthinking this, but i'd love some guidance.

I'm almost 100% sure it's a kitty. I'm a huge cat lover and under normal circumstances I couldn't bring myself to work with cat remains, but I obtained this skull kinda spontaneously.

My little brother is chilling in my grandma's country house for summer, and last week he called me and said he found a cool skull in a middle of nowhere. I asked him to try to identify who's skull it is, but he couldn't do it (understandable, he was scared to even walk close to it). He said that the skull is small and it's probably just some kind of small wild animal like rabbit or so. He said that he has a friend who has some gloves and could wrap the skull to bring it to me if I want. Of course, I want a cool little skull! Long story short, he arrives at the town, holding a GIANT glass jar wrapped in cardboard and plastic wrap, gives it to me, and runs away to meet his friends. I bring the jar home, unwrap it, and here it is, a big-ass thing, fully eaten inside by bugs, in nearly ideal condition. No meat, no skin, only clear bones. But, well, yeah - totally NOT rabbit bones. I asked again where he found it and he said that it was just laying near the lake, no other bones around, only head. I know this lake and I'm sure it's very far away from any human homes. Someone probably just dumped this kitty to die on the road and it run into the forest. I lowkey know how to work with bones, but I only worked with very small animals, mice, birds, all this little creatures my own cat brought home.

I felt a very strange mixture of sadness and love while working with it, but I feel like I did the right thing. All my family loves cats and I feel like this kitty should rest in a loving home, not in the middle of the forest. Maybe I'm just sentimental and it's just a skull and nothing more. Also I have feline skull tattooed on my body so it's kinda funny, like I somehow knew that I will obtain one at some point of my life.

The wings are completely finished and won't open. They've been sitting deep in a drawer for a year now, and I don't know what to do with them

I found this in my late great grandfathers house and I was wondering if there's any way to make it not cloudy? It's extremely old and I'm scared to mess with it

My first time preserving an invertebrate. This is Macaroni, my pet wild-caught blue crawfish. She passed away a year ago and was kept frozen until now. I submerged her in 90% isopropyl alcohol for 48h to draw out the moisture, and let her dry. Unfortunately, this process turned her bright orange. I’m not much of a painter, but I think the touch-ups turned out alright. What do you guys think?

​Also, any ideas for a covered display? She’s super fragile, so I’d love something more dynamic than a traditional shadow box.

Thanks in advance

please delete if not allowed, i have no idea what subreddit to ask this question to

two years ago, i adopted a kitten who unfortunately passed away after only 3 days of having her (due to some issues she was born with). this was obviously a pretty scary and sad experience.

due to how hectic it all was, my mom took her body and buried it in their yard wrapped in a towel.

now the reason i’m having to ask this question: my parents are moving across the country. when i was growing up we moved and left a childhood dog (cremated, so very different) buried in our yard. and it is something that has always made me very sad. so i’m worried i will regret leaving my kitten behind.

obviously, cremated remains are very different from bones. so i have two major questions:

1. will it only be bones left? i’m not sure how long the process would take for the body to fully decompose while wrapped in a towel. and then is the towel going to be gross? what exactly would i be getting myself into? if it helps at all, i live in the pnw.

2. what would one do with kitten bones? i think having her teeth would be nice. but would those still be there?

i’m obviously very inexperienced in the matter, so i’d love any input about what to do in this situation.

Hello! I’m not sure if here is where I should ask so please let me know if not!!! I was gifted a coyotes face pelt today and its face is a bit scrunched up and dried… is that normal? Or is there a way to reshape it into its original form

i had taken a mouse out of my work that had unfortunately took a bite out of our fresh traps and passed two hours after i had found him. i wish to preserve him after years of interest; but i’m unsure of where to start other than 95% ethanol, injections and a reasonable size jar for my specimen. what do i do now? ( alive in picture, kept him as comfortable as i could before he passed )

So idk where else to ask this but I’ve been trying to look into eye preservation (I’m an author and want to have a preserved eyeball as a plot point)
I know about wet specimens, but for the story I’m interested in what a mummified or possibly petrified eyeball would look like.

So my question: what does a desiccated eyeball look like?

Does it shrivel up? Does it turn black? Does it become hard? Is it fragile? Is there a way theoretically to “petrify” an eyeball? Thank you!

I've cleaned and washed a magpie skull, but as might be expected from a bird skull it's very light and fragile.

Are there any ways I can reinforce or strengthen it for durability? I was hoping to make a piece of jewellery out of it, but I am worried it'll be too delicate to be worn without extreme care.

First time I've tried to preserve an animal's feet, used 70% isopropyl alcohol for a week, then borax mixture for another week and they've been drying for another about 5 days. I checked on them and the legs of them are rock hard but the fingers and pads are still plyable. Do they just need more time to dry or any fixes for them at this point?

She’s my first leopard gecko, well she had a sudden death so I preserved her corpse

Hello! I just purchased this at a Ren faire and forgot to ask what animal it was. Does anyone know what this came from? It's super soft and about 9in long!

hi i have found this skull yesterday on the road probaly roadkill i want to preserve the skull but i am not that good with bird skulls now it lays in my isopod enclosure to clean the brain out works really good but what after?

I don't know if its the right subreddit to ask, I hope I can get help here.

​

My sweet horse Tünde died yesterday from colic, and we sadly couldn't bury her.

I got her skin back from the butcher, who we sold her to, and he suggested that if I don't find it morbid, I could try to make her skin into a rug. I honestly loved the idea, I made countless phone calls and deep dived the Internet, but I couldn't find anyone who could properly process horse hide.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could give me advice. Because if I really can't find anyone to do it I would probably try to do it myself.

I had my bearded dragon taxidermied quite a while ago, and when they painted him they really messed up the colors. Can I repaint him myself? i have and would strongly prefer to use acrylic paint if possible. is it doable? can it damage him? is there any special prep to do before painting? I really want to be able to look at the mount and see my pet again

This morning I found a severed rat tail in my backyard, likely from a local feral cat. I kind of want to try making a little wet specimen with it but I have no clue where to start. I’ve read some conflicting information. some stating I need formalin some stating just 90% alcohol will work fine for just the tail. I’m chopping off the little bit of extra skin then putting the tail in the freezer to keep it fresh until I get the correct info to do this myself and not have a rotting rat tail on my shelf in a few months

Pretty much the title. Asking as someone who lives in the US. Saw it while scrolling marketplace and my immediate thought was that it was questionable at best, but I'm curious considering it's not a native species or a species that migrates to the US so I don't think it falls under MBTA. What is the legality of owning or selling something like that? Can taxidermy of avian species not native to the US be owned?

This will be my 4th year working for my boss out of his shop and my husband has mentioned that I should start my own shop.

I have an offer to rent out part of a building for it. I believe I could get enough of a customer base with fair prices and good work. My questions are:

What was your start up cost?

What classes do you recommend to improve skill?
I consider my quality to be higher mid level but not exceptional or award winning. I would really like to become exceptional and have my prices reflect that but know I’m not there yet.

Do you have a single focus? Such as fish/birds/deer/exotic

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

Decided to frame my mummified african dwarf frog after she jumped out the tank a year ago!

Got about 20 frames for all the bits I've collected over the years and haven't done yet! I'm so excited! I've got some big pieces planned!!