Taxidermy Care | My Site

TAXIDERMY

Care Guide

Keep your oddities looking their

best for years to come!

TAXIDERMY CLEANING

To keep your pieces looking their absolute best for years to come, a little simple TLC goes a long way. Here’s how to show your mount some love.

Regular Cleaining

The Basics: A quick once-over with a feather duster or a soft paintbrush once a month will keep dust from settling in. Always brush in the direction of the fur or feathers! * For a Deeper Clean: If your piece is looking a little grubby, don't panic! Spray a bit of mild cleaner or soapy water onto a paper towel or clean mircofibre cloth (never directly on the mount!) and wipe gently with the fur's grain. Use a clean section of the towel with each swipe to avoid redepositing dirt. * The Finishing Touch: After cleaning, give it a quick blow-dry on a low, cool setting to fluff everything back up. * Eye Care: For sparkling eyes, gently wipe the surface with a Q-tip dipped in a tiny bit of Windex. Let it dry, then use a small artist's brush to apply a thin layer of clear sealant (from any art store) to protect and shine.

Pest Prevention

The last thing you want is a bug infestation treating your mount like a free buffet. To protect your piece, we recommend a light preventative spray with a diluted insecticidal spray about twice a year—once in the spring and again in the fall. Think of it as bug repellent for your art.

Uh Oh...So you have a pest. What Now?

Keep an eye out for: - Excessive fur shedding or yellowing - A dusty, gritty texture in the fur - Tiny black insect shells or specks. If you spot trouble, act fast! Isolate the piece immediately. - For Small Pieces: The freezer is your best friend! Seal the piece in a plastic bag and freeze it for a full week. This will eliminate any active pests. After its deep freeze, thaw it out and give it a thorough cleaning. - For Larger Pieces: Enclose it in a large plastic bag or box with several mothballs (containing Naphthalene) or fumigant strips. Seal it up tight and leave it for at least a week. After quarantine, air it out and follow the cleaning steps above. With just a little care, your unique piece from Pretty Dead Taxidermy will stay vibrant and stunning for a lifetime of enjoyment

HANGING TAXIDERMY

The most fun thing about owning taxidermy - is how awesome it looks displayed!

Light Items

Generally, all you need is a nail or your preferred method to hang items on your wall much like any picture frame. For things that weigh more than a few pounds we recommend using wall anchors for drywall or sewing into a wall stud for extra stability.

Large Items / Large Taxidermy

Items like Deer Mounts and things that weigh more than 10 lbs we reinforce with heavy duty hardware but we strongly advise when hanging to screw into a wall stud. When the use of a wall stud is not available - make sure to use wall anchors suitable for the taxidermy's weight. We recommend Toggle Bolts as a good wall anchor option and is widely available at all hardware stores.

INSECT CARE

All our insect frames require some very minimal handling to ensure longevity.

Sunlight

Keep your framed specimens out of direct sunlight. UV Rays can damage and bleach the specimens, especially the colouring on wings like our butterflies.

Humidity

It is best practice to keep your framed goods away from humid environments (such as the bathroom, directly by a humidifier) as they are dried specimens. If rehydrated, these specimens become susceptible to rot and corrosion. So a dry area of your home is best.

Pests

Much like taxidermy, if you notice any pets that get inside your frame - please place them directly into a freezer for 1 week to kill any live pets and their larvae. After a week, open the frame and carefully brush out any pets in the frame.

Breakage

Accidents happen! In most cases if you drop your frame and a leg or part of an insect falls off you can repair it.

Unfortunately, with butterfly wings, if it rips it may not be salvageable at home - feel free to get in contact with us if this happens as our specialists may be able to fix it.

For insect body parts and full wings, you can reattach them using either entomology glue - or - we recommend superglue gel type and using a pair a tweezers.

WET SPECIMENS

Creepy, cool, and very easy to keep! Here's our general guide

to keeping wet specimens looking the best

Sunlight

Like our framed specimens keep your wet specimens out of direct sunlight. UV Rays can damage and bleach the specimens over time.

Colour Changes & Liquid Refilling

It is normal over time to see your wet specimens liquid to change from clear to a yellow-y/brown colour. Many of the wet specimens in museums that haent been touched in decades look like this too.

This is do to osmosis, a natural process of which the specimens organic matter leeches into the fluid over time. Some people like this look but if you don't - no worries!

All our wet specimens use a generally safe* fluid - 75-80% Isopropyl Alcohol.

Should you want to revitalize your wet specimen it is as easy as pouring out the old liquid and replacing with new. Make sure to use between 70-85% proof isopropyl alcohol as a lower percentage will not preserve it and higher will strip the specimen.

Alternatively, you can always get in touch with us and we do provide refilling services!

*Generally Safe - meaning is not immediately toxic for humans. Please use ventilation, and any other PPE (ex: gloves/face mask) when handling and do not consume liquid. Isopropyl Alcohol can cause irritation to nose, throat along with dizziness, headaches etc. Rashes and dry skin can also occur if used without caution.