- Joined
- Jul 20, 2007
- Messages
- 5,351
You're welcome. It wasn't my idea by any stretch, but I'm glad you liked the thread.Pretty awesome. That's a fantastic idea. Too bad the T doesn't keep it's original color but it's still a nice souvenir to keep.
Thank you Joe![]()
An honor to have you post on my thread, Mr. and Mrs. Schultz.Did you do anything to remove water from the tarantula's carcass? I have a little booklet that describes mounting biological specimens much the same way you describe, but it insists that you need to dehydrate the specimen before embedding it because:
1. Water leaches out of the carcass and eventually clouds the resin.
2. Entombing the carcass with all its resident water allows it to rot inside the resin, eventually destroying the specimen.
The book recommends (for insects and similar arthropods) a lengthy process of soaking the carcass in increasing concentrations of ethyl or isopropyl (I think) alcohol from 70% all the way to 100% to gradually remove all the water and replace it with alcohol. The complete dehydrating process can take weeks in really large specimens like crabs and massive spiders (think T. blondi here).
No, I did not do anything to remove the water from the carcass first. I was not sure how to preserve the carcass long enough post-mortem without freezing, so I bought what I needed and just went for it. I wonder why they wouldn't just use 100% alcohol right away? I'm sure there is some reason.
It's been my experience with perserving animals in alcohol (I have a bat, a mole, a slipper lobster, a squid, among other things), that they too alter their coloration after time. Whether it was hours or weeks or months, I couldn't tell you, but I have seen the color change. It may be worth a small experiment though with some more common animals (we have tons of anoles around here.
With regards to the water rotting inside the carcass and seeping through the resin, I suppose that's a possibility (similar to osmosis?), and I have no choice now but to wait and see what happens.
If there are changes to the quality of the specimen, I will be sure to post on this thread with pictures, etc.
Very valid points, thank you for bringing them up to me. Please be sure to let me know the name of the booklet you mentioned. :worship:
Exactly what I mentioned above about soaking in alcohol.well i have heard soaking a T in alcohol ruins it..i may be wrong, but hats what i heard. also i know you can polish the resin up, but could you use a polishing agent on it after sanding it?that way it would be real shiny...last thing....someone said to place the mold on something that slightly vibrates to get the bubbles out....would this work? if not, other than a vacume chamber how could you do it?
I'm not too sure about the polishing or sanding scenario right now. I think I may create resin balls or something to test on before sanding/polishing the actual specimen.
Another test on something that vibrates is in order too!
Thanks guys for your input!
--Joe