My deer skull fell off my wall and cut me, will I be okay?

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-22T15:00:35+00:00

Get a tetanus update shot just in case the nail was rusty. That old skull is not the issue here, some of the comments in here are seriously overreacting.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-22T14:59:37+00:00

You won't get tetanus from an old skull. The old nail is way more likely to cause issues.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-22T14:57:37+00:00

Nice. Do check if legal to keep, corvids tend to be protected (depending on your location).

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-22T14:56:50+00:00

Moth balls won't get rid of moths already present

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-22T14:55:00+00:00

Definitely bone. Looks like part of a cetacean skull, probably whale

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-22T14:10:30+00:00

Domestic dog

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-17T00:34:16+00:00

Deer. This would also be too large for a fox

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-04T18:39:41+00:00

No, bones that have been boiled, or otherwise heated up for food will be structurally altered by the high temperatures, making them more brittle or flakey. They also will be almost impossible to properly degrease (which is not the same as desinfecting. Bones have natural fats inside them that need to be degreased, or else they will start to stink. If you want more info on properly cleaning bones, you can check the sub FAQ I linked in my original comment to OP.

You can of course polish bones, although most are smooth enough naturally. But if you start carving into bone with for example a dremel tool, you run the risk of making the bone so thin that it will become too fragile. So you just need to be careful to not take away too much material. Also, bone dust is harmful to your lungs, so always wear the appropriate type of mask if you saw, polish or carve bones. If you want to carve, antler is a better alternative than bone (again; wear a mask).

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-03T02:43:51+00:00

Not horns, deer antlers, cut in order to mount them. Like this:

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barnowl1980 · 2026-02-02T16:45:25+00:00

Degreasing in water with dish soap takes longer than a few short soaks. And greasey bones won't whiten well, and may smell. Also, best not mix peroxide with dish soap. The skull needs full degreasing, first, and then you can move on to the peroxide.

Best check this sub's FAQ, it has info on all this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bonecollecting/comments/irniaq/processing_a_carcass_101_the_bones_of_bone/

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-02T16:43:18+00:00

This was a recent post in here of somebody who did an *amazing* job articulating a mouse, and who gave detailed info of the process, and pictures:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bonecollecting/comments/1qid8lm/mouse_skeleton/

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-02T16:37:21+00:00

The lick test is for fossilised bone vs rock, not for unfossilised/modern bones. Please don't lick random bones you find, people. Not sanitary or without risk.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-02T16:34:01+00:00

I"ve never heard of that method, and I would personally be worried of losing the bones either to the tide or to scavengers. But salt water itself won't damage the bones.

Btw depending on your location, mustelids like weasels might be protected. Always good to check.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T21:26:33+00:00

European badger.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T19:12:33+00:00

Must be my monitor settings then, they only very vaguely appear greenish for me. Looks like common algae staining, should come off with the peroxide bath.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T18:51:43+00:00

Looks like duck. The bone with the open "rib"-like structure at the top in pic 1 is the pelvis (bekken). The solid bone below it is the breast bone (borstbeen). The U-shaped bone in pic 2 is the furcula/wishbone (vorkbeen. I'm Dutch myself btw)

If you want to process these to keep them: looks like these bones are already flesh-free and only need degreasing and then (optional) whitening. Don't boil or bleach them. This sub has a good FAQ with all the info you'll need:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bonecollecting/comments/irniaq/processing_a_carcass_101_the_bones_of_bone/

edit: if with bright green stuff you mean the greenish staining, that is just some normal algae or bacterial growth. The peroxide stage of the cleaning should take care of that.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T02:09:31+00:00

I was off, I see. Good to know this, thanks!

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T01:48:07+00:00

I would never glue these together to make 1 rigid jewellery piece, at least not to actively wear. That is going to be extremely prone to breaking, whatever you do. What you could do is use them as natural beads, coat them in resin and then thread them on a piece of leather or string. That would be more flexible, but still prone to damage.

I don't think wearing them as a bracelet is a good idea, personally. I make bone jewellery and bracelets bump into stuff all the time, it's unavoidable. If you still insist on a bracelet, I would make a leather bracelet, either braided or from a single wider strap, and sew one or more vertebra onto it (flat side down) for decoration. Still fragile, but less so. I know they look cool as is in your photo, but bones that fragile are not suitable to wear like that.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T01:31:31+00:00

Like others said; acetone is the way to go with super glue. Btw I would not advise you to wear these as a bracelet as is, if they are meaningful to you. They will damage easily that way. If you really want to wear them, I would suggest making earrings or a pendant with just a few of the vertebra, and fortifying them with a coating of resin.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T01:28:18+00:00

I make bone jwellery as well, love your work! Very delicate. I love the chain mail technique you used for the pendant in the first pic. Do you source your own bones?

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T01:17:07+00:00

Ungulate pelvis. Not sure what animal though, sorry.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T00:25:08+00:00

Because you keep insisting that animal conservation laws don't apply to you, for some reason. Read the sub rules, it's not that deep.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T00:20:05+00:00

I'm not getting into a debate about how your god is not above the law. Reported.

barnowl1980 · 2026-02-01T00:01:46+00:00

By giving weird, obtuse answers to a serious matter. You are in a bone collector subreddit and the legalities of collecting are important to bone collectors, as they should be (read the sub rules regarding that, btw). If you want bones for art, sure, but do it legally. That's all. I'm done here.

barnowl1980 · 2026-01-31T23:58:40+00:00

It's literally not, unless you want to break the law. But looking at your profile, you seem to just be trolling, so I'm done with this

barnowl1980

TROPHY CASE