My Rights As An American Report post Posted September 6, 2012 Anyone ever buy their own dermestid colony and let them clean the skulls? I have four skulls in the freezer and it seems MUCH cheaper to just buy a colony, let them eat for a few days on each skull, then simply get rid of the beetles. Any experience? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
general Report post Posted September 6, 2012 It's not as easy as you think, beetles can be a pain in the butt. I have cleaned skulls for over five years using beetles and maceraction. If you really wanted to clean them yourself I would look into the maceration(google it). But just remember that you're just getting the flesh off the bone, the hard part is degreasing. If it were me I would just pay someone to do it..to big of a learning curve to get it done right. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr.smith Report post Posted September 7, 2012 Anyone ever buy their own dermestid colony and let them clean the skulls? I have four skulls in the freezer and it seems MUCH cheaper to just buy a colony, let them eat for a few days on each skull, then simply get rid of the beetles. Any experience? I know where there is a rotting lion kill covered in dermestid beetles. PM me if you want to know where to find them. I got the lion on cam with her cub. Didn't capture the kill. Found it when I checked the cam. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
My Rights As An American Report post Posted September 7, 2012 It's not as easy as you think, beetles can be a pain in the butt. I have cleaned skulls for over five years using beetles and maceraction. If you really wanted to clean them yourself I would look into the maceration(google it). But just remember that you're just getting the flesh off the bone, the hard part is degreasing. If it were me I would just pay someone to do it..to big of a learning curve to get it done right. Know someone who does it fairly reasonably priced? I can get an entire colony for about the price of one skull cleaning. I only need to keep them alive for about 1-2 weeks. That cannot be that hard, can it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted September 7, 2012 I have cleaned a bunch of skulls before and have found that maceration is a great way to do it. Just cut off as much flesh as possible and then put it in a five gallon bucket of water with a lid on it and let it sit for several weeks/months, depending on temperature. But as has been mentioned already, the real key with skull cleaning is degreasing and that's where you have to learn what chemicals to use and spend quite a bit of time on it. As far as beetles go, I have only heard that they are a pain and can be hard to keep alive and all. My suggestion is to use a professional...the time you save is worth more than the money you might save with your own beetle colony. Look up sponsor CMC skullworks for a highly recommended professional who uses beetles to clean skulls. You might even call him and see what he thinks about your idea to do your own colony. http://www.cmcskullw....com/index.html If you decide you really want to do it yourself, you can get a lot of great information on how to do it at taxidermy.net 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crotalus Report post Posted September 8, 2012 I have done my own skulls and believe me dermestids are probably the best way to go, with some fore warning though. I know CMC and General do some awesome work and have some awesome set ups(I have personally seen General's colonies and it is both impressive and time consuming), you won't go wrong getting advise from them. Maceration works but is nasty and does take some time. It can't hurt to try just be ready for some serious work. At a pizza joint here in Tucson there is a sign that says "great pizza takes time, please be patient...", I feel the same goes for doing your own skulls. Practice makes perfect and it's a lot of hard work. If you have any luck your beetles will survive to maturity and turn into adults; then you can have even more beetles... beware of the stink though. Ernest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cvw789 Report post Posted September 17, 2012 I would suggest buying a couple thousand beetles to start to be able to clean the skulls you have. The other thing you have to manage is the climate for them as well (ie temp, humidity etc) with this also comes making sure you have an enclosure that they cannot escape out of. Like General stated above it is a learning curve. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Thanks, Cole Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
