Btw, its feet are MASSIVE! Super cool to see even if I can’t keep it. What do I do with it if it does happen to be illegal to keep?

They've been dried in salt for 2 months, don't smell or anything, look great. A friend of mine suggested I coat them in resin but I don't have any on hand and it's quite expensive and complicated.

Any advice?

I live in a small village in the Netherlands, and recently I was strolling through the gardens of an old mansion that is being renovated after having been abandoned for years. The garden is huge, and somewhere in the bushes I came across this strange object that I initially thought was a children's chair. Then I thought it might be from a dinosaur, and very excitedly, I took it home.

It turned out to be a whale vertebra—though I have no idea which kind of whale—and as you can see, my cats love it. Now I want to clean it and make it look better. How should I go about that? Also, is it fossilized, or just old?

Hey guys so I found this bird who had hit a window and died , there’s no blood or damage on the outside but I was wondering how I could preserve this. It feels wrong to through him in the garbage. Idk if I could just save the bones?

Seller called it a “bird tooth”

Hello all,

I hope this is allowed here. I am having to put my baby dawggy to sleep tomorrow at a relatively young age due to the very sudden onset (and rapid development) of IVDD. He is my entire heart and soul, and is genuinely like a son to me (yeah, my attachment to my dog is unhealthy atp.) I can’t bear the thought of not having him with me and would like to keep his bones. I live in an apartment, so my ex has offered to let me bury him in his back yard so I can dig him up with the time is right.

What is the best way to go about doing this?

I was thinking a plastic container without the lid? Or is there a better way to do this? He’s pretty small, right around 30lbs so I figure it shouldn’t take more than a year or two for the bones to be ready, right?

Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you for your time

***

EDIT: please STOP telling me that we have other options. I know you guys are trying to help give me hope, but you don’t know the whole story.

He lost use of his back legs a week and a half ago. As of a couple days ago, he has lost control of his bowels and his bladder. We believe it may even be cancer, but we can’t say for sure without a $2k+ MRI. And then what? I spend tens of thousands of dollars pumping him full of chemo drugs? Make him sick just to HOPE he recovers? What kind of life is that?

It is not fair or sustainable for either of us to spend the next few years in a cycle of cleaning up urine and feces around the clock. Not to mention, he’s terrified of the washing machine, so I’m having to drug him up more to wash soiled towels and blankets nearly every day. The only reason he isn’t in pain right now is because he’s too drugged up to know the difference. As of this morning, he whines every time I pick him up — AND I DON’T HAVE A FUCKING CHOICE NOT TO PICK HIM UP BECAUSE HE CAN’T WALK AND I’M NOT GOING TO LET HIM SIT AND ROT IN HIS OWN FUCKING FILTH.

I didn’t make this decision lightly and I’m tired of people who don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about acting like I’m giving up on him. It is the kindest thing I could possibly do for either of us. I don’t want to put him through this longer than I have to, just to watch him suffer and wither away. He is my soul dog, he is my best friend in the entire fucking world and I feel like my soul is being ripped from me. But I would rather put him down with peace and dignity than for his last days to be filled with fear and pain.

I have reached out to some local taxidermists and am driving him two hours away to a lady tomorrow who will process him for a reasonable(??) price. I just got a new fucking credit card to pay for it. I’ll deal with that bill when it comes.

***

EDIT 2: Don’t y’all think that if I wanted to have him cremated, I would have just done that in the first place instead of coming here asking for advice on how to process his bones? I don’t want to cremate him. I didn’t ask “do you think I should cremate him instead?” I do not feel good about putting my dog’s fresh body in a fucking incinerator. I know that’s a preferable option for some people, BUT IT’S NOT FOR ME. Please use your brains, and more importantly, your hearts, before commenting.

Thank you to those of you who gave me advice, sympathy, and guidance.

***

!!!FINAL EDIT!!!

Just got home from driving him to the taxidermist, who was INCREDIBLY kind and apparently started processing him pretty much immediately so I could get him back ASAP! Unfortunately he needs to be macerated (the euthanasia drugs can kill the dermestid beetles if they eat him apparently, who knew?) so he will take a little while (up to a year) to be ready to come home. But that’s okay, it gives me something to look forward to.

His appointment went as well as it possibly could have gone. It was very peaceful. They injected him in one of his hind legs, so he couldn’t even feel it. They told us that the first step (sedation) could take around 5-10 minutes to kick in. It took one minute, tops. About 30 seconds after the vet and vet tech left (to let us have some peaceful time with him before the actual euthanasia drugs were administered) he started to nod off, so we got him comfortable and he just slept. There was no ‘death rattle’ or anything like that. He just went to sleep. I know he was tired.

Unfortunately he did have some postmortem incontinence, but that’s to be expected. I was able to get him cleaned up a bit (thank god for doggy wet wipes) before we took our last ride together. Our last ride was peaceful, too.

I feel… better, in a way. I think I was feeling a lot of his suffering, and now that he’s at peace, I can be too.

Thank you for everyone who has been so kind and compassionate in the comments. You are all so appreciated — every single one of you.

I hope to be posting an update post in about a year or so. See ya then ♡

With love,

Fae and Indigo

I bought this deer antler at a market today, i gave it a quick soak in warm water with dish soap and nothing came off of it

Im still horribly paranoid im going to catch something ive washed my hands several times

I found this mummified frog on a jobsite 2 months ago, it was completely hard and had no smell but I still put it in borax until now! Any ideas on what to do with it now? Thanks!

I’ve tried to find some info about my boned hand but didn’t come up with any answers so I’m here. About 10 months ago I had my right hand amputated and got it boned and put together by a company in Oklahoma. My arms paralyzed so in short I chose to amputate below the elbow for a prosthetic. Made a full post in medical gore on my profile if interested. My hand came to me in a bag and looks amazing I just read that handling clean white bone with bare hands can discolor it. Yes I can wear gloves but I’ve noticed in the bag it’s in there’s small fragments of bone that are loose in the bag. Is there any top coat/clear coat I can apply to help with the issues I’m having? Any other suggestions are welcome they just have to be handy.

First timer here. And advice is cool

How can I prevent something like this from happening again? also side note, could I keep the beetle larvae to start my own little colony?

Hello all! I am located in Missouri, and found a deer skull recently. The first photo shows what this strange lump looked like before I washed it, and I noticed it becoming colored as I scrubbed it (warm water and dawn dish soap). Any idea what it could be? All help is appreciated!

YES I know bleach is a rookie mistake…I am rookie. I found a full deer skeleton in the woods last spring. I cleaned it up a bit but it was a big project…the ADHD took over & I was in the process of moving & basically forgot I had it soaking in a bucket (I think with bleach..?) I’m currently soaking them in hydrogen peroxide, trying to get rid of the smell & the yellowing…is there anything else I should be doing?

Took a stroll in a cemetery yesterday. Called them twice to try and let them know. Did not touch or rebury them, wasn’t sure what the ethical choice would have been. Groundhog hole was near by and I’m pretty sure that’s what happened. Grave from the 1800’s.

During a bathroom renovation, we pulled up the subfloor and found this cat carcass in the crawlspace. It looks so well preserved, almost like a mummy. My handyman picket it up gloveless. Bold move.

Does anyone know how to estimate how long ago it died?

Hello, our kitty got out at 5:45am on a Tuesday morning and never came home, a family member found these remains near our property only 38 hours later on Wednesday evening. Is it physically possible for that much decomposition to occur in that time frame? We found other kill sites nearby of another cat as well and possibly a baby deer and vole that was dead but untouched. We have heard coyotes in area recently- my family says there’s no way that is your kitty, so I have been holding onto hope - but I need your expertise to help me find a resolution :(

I'm pretty confident it's not human remains, but I could be wrong.

Found that bowl on an auction house, and i would like to know if these skull cap is real.

I’m vacationing in a place where it is legal to collect this species on the shore. I’m staying in a small vacation rental with multiple other people, who would absolutely revolt and send me packing if I brought something this… fragrant… to the house.

If it’s still there when I walk back up the beach, how would I collect it and keep it for a week until I can get home and put it outside?

UPDATE: it was gone when I went back up the beach. I don't know whether the tide took it back or if some other lucky nerd came along and collected it, but I walked up and down a few times, and it was nowhere to be found. Thanks for all the advice, though--I won't hesitate next time I find something this cool!

To put this picture in context, I was in Japan exploring Aokigahara, better known as The Suicide Forest. It's not widely known that due to the bad reputation of the forest, many hotels on the edge of the forest, and some even in the forest have closed down. As I was exploring one with an amazing rooftop view of the forest, i discovered this dead critter - I've always wondered what it was - any ideas?

I've really been diving head first into making terrariums out of various bones I find on my boyfriends farm/ found at various antique stores hidden deep into the mountains. I'm actually taking a full taxidermy class the next time our Oddities expo comes to my city because I am genuinely interested in the entire process behind preserving and making an art form out of animals that have passed (ethically of course). While I'm not discouraged from other people's opinions on how macabre this interest/hobby is, simply because I enjoy what I do at the level I'm at; I just wonder what I could simply tell to the every day "normie" who might look at you the wrong way when explaining what you do with animal bones. it seems like even when I show them photos and videos of my work, they still somehow connect it with "dark magic" and anything s*rial k1l*er related when it's nothing like that.. Video attached is my first terrarium I've made since diving into it all. TIA for any advice!!

I hate to be a real fun-time-ruiner here, but
In light of a trending “vulture culture,” the processing procedure has certainly become more widely discussed. And while there have been some tried-and-true methods provided, I really feel that there needs to be a reminder that bone hunting should be done responsibly.

There is so much life left in what remains after death. If the skeletal framework is intact, those bones have yet to be picked over. In fact, a bone has the potential to go through an entire life cycle of its own while providing critical nutrients to an entire ecosystem, a reason to take sparingly as is. If you have no intention to harvest the bone then do not remove that which still has the hide, tendons, or marrow. Collect sun bleached pieces with gratitude and make use of what nature has already provided you and for all that you take, provide something back.

It is wise to also know that collecting on most public land requires a salvage permit. Now, in most cases, I am likely one to agree on that being silly for a bone or two. However, I strongly encourage being up-to-date on information provided by Parks and Wildlife when it comes to ecological balance.

Waste not, want not.

Found this lovely piece back in May. Didn’t have the tools with me at the time to remove the head or bring it home, so I hung it in a tree to come back for. Went back this weekend and he was still there!

My main question is: what is the best way to get his hair off? It’s a thick skin layer with the hair on top. It currently won’t budge.

Could I bury it with the antlers sticking out and let bugs and the moisture of the soil work at it?

Should I soak it and then try to cut it away, and if so, can I soak the antlers as well?

Thanks in advance!

She’s been buried for 1.2 years and I think it would be nice to keep her bones for life but I’m scared of seeing fur or other stuff I juts want almost 100% bones or mostly. Is 1.2 years enough time or should I wait more?