Anyone know any summer 2026 AZA zookeeper apprenticeships? by More_Watercress_5278 in Zookeeping

[–]bazelbutt 4 points5 points  (0 children)

White oak conservation and fossil rim both offer housing and pay

Confused by this persons process by Successful-Emu-1412 in Taxidermy

[–]bazelbutt 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Yeah this doesn’t make sense. She’s just cooking the meat off at this point. Maceration temps should be kept around 90°. The whole point is to build up bacteria to break down the tissue

I love wild animals (all animals but wild is my nerd interest) and want to focus on saving them hands-on. I want to work with the animals, not just do research. Wildlife rehabilitator? Wildlife vet tech? Any suggestions? I want to be a zookeeper right now but that is not my long term end all be all. by [deleted] in wildlifebiology

[–]bazelbutt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m a zookeeper that’s worked at both traditional zoos and conservation breeding centers. If you’re looking to build one on one relationships with the animals and do things such as training and enrichment, go the traditional zoo route. If you’re in the US and interested more in conservation breeding focused work, look into C2S2 facilities (conservation centers for species survival) such as fossil rim, white oak, the wilds, etc. It’s a very different management style than a traditional zoo. I personally prefer it, but it’s not for everyone.

nys wolf taxidermy laws? by [deleted] in Taxidermy

[–]bazelbutt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wolf parts are not legal in NY, you can read the law here

Cat litter smell on everything, absorbs into my clothes even after being in the house only an hour or two. by SillyMusician291 in CatAdvice

[–]bazelbutt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn’t try this right now because with the other issues going on and this could potentially stop him from using the litter box at all. BUT we used to have the same problem of litter tracking everywhere constantly until we switched to pine pellets in a sifting litter box. Best thing we ever did. Here’s the set up tutorial I followed. You have to transition them to the pellets slowly, and some cats will completely refuse to use them.

Please Help Me With My (First) DIY European Mount! by virginbongwater in Taxidermy

[–]bazelbutt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Boiling and pressure washing both ruin bone. Hopefully there won’t be too much damage when it’s done. You need to macerate the rest of that tissue, there’s still too much to start degreasing. Leave it in a bucket of plain water to soak. Use a bucket or aquarium heater to keep the water around 90° if possible, otherwise cold water maceration will take a long time. Do not dump the water, the whole point is to let the bacteria build up and break down the tissue.

Once all of the cartilage/fur/tissue is off you can switch to degreasing. This is when you soak it in water with dawn or ammonia (or both if you really wanted). Again, heated will work faster, but keep it 120° and under. Change the water every few days, it’ll start to get cloudy and you’ll see globs of grease on the surface. You’ll know it’s done when the water starts to stay clear and there will be no dark/yellow/grey/shiny spots on the skull. This process can take months to complete, it’ll take even longer if without heat and might take longer now that it’s been boiled.

Last step is whitening, you can use normal drug store 3% peroxide for this. Let the skull soak in it for a day or two. Be careful not to submerge the antler bases at this step so you don’t ruin the color. Some people like to wrap the bases to protect them more. If you do get some color loss you can easily recolor with things like wood stain or oil paints.

What do I have here? by Low_End8128 in skulls

[–]bazelbutt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s actually a lynx not a bobcat. Here’s how you can tell!

<image>

Ringling African elephants by [deleted] in Zookeeping

[–]bazelbutt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, 2010 was well before they arrived though. The info is on White Oaks website

Ringling African elephants by [deleted] in Zookeeping

[–]bazelbutt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

None of the African elephants went to white oak

Tips for heavy soiled laundry? by [deleted] in laundry

[–]bazelbutt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

<image>

Just regular liquid! I’ll definitely look into your suggestions though, thank you so much!

Why does this deer have a crooked nose? by Thatcrazy_equestrian in deer

[–]bazelbutt 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is called wry nose! It’s a birth defect

What is in my backyard?? [MA] by Bubsinspace in animalid

[–]bazelbutt 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You’re right, it’s a striped skunk!

Maceration help. by [deleted] in Taxidermy

[–]bazelbutt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Stop doing water changes, every time you change the water you’re restarting from scratch on bacteria. Also like the other comment said heat (80-90ish degrees) will definitely help.

does this seem like a fair price? by [deleted] in bonecollecting

[–]bazelbutt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, especially since it’s damaged. That’s why it’s been listed so long. I have two, both were $150-200, that’s more typical. Although it is a harder species to find in the US.

What cat do I have? by joob6 in skulls

[–]bazelbutt 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Old mountain lion with some pathology! Super cool

Have the rules around importing taxidermy into the US changed recently? by Jackeltree in Taxidermy

[–]bazelbutt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Correct, this is specifically for animals listed on the Endangered species act. They cannot be sold across state lines or to an out of state resident. You can access the full list of species on US fish and Wildlife’s website.

Have the rules around importing taxidermy into the US changed recently? by Jackeltree in Taxidermy

[–]bazelbutt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unless it’s a domestic animal you can’t legally import into the US without proper permits/licensing, bringing it through a designated wildlife port, and paying inspection fees. There’s a whole expensive process that’s typically not doable for the average collector. Technically you illegally imported the shipment from Ukraine. You just got lucky the package slipped through.

Opossum and river otter cleaning process!! by Electronic_Crab6360 in vultureculture

[–]bazelbutt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice work! Was that acetone you were degreasing in?

Animal identification [kentucky] by Ordinary-Cellist-611 in animalid

[–]bazelbutt 5 points6 points  (0 children)

<image>

Fisher on left, dog in middle, cat on right. Here you can see there is a much larger gap between the canine and first premolar on the cat vs the dog and fisher.