Taxidermy

I have 2 dead pet rats in my freezer that I would like to preserve the skeleton and skull from. What is the best way to do this? Do you know how to do taxidermy? Is that even taxidermy? Can someone tell me a not gross or messy method or do it for me? I could pay you i guess. We could work something out, I have no idea where to even begin with how much, like 100$ maybe? Or is this like, a thousand dollar operation? Could the vet help me? Should I call the vet? Any assistance is appreciated and this is a real post. I loved these dead rats very much when they were alive and I think it’d be cool to have a rat skeleton or two in a glass display case.
Thanks for your time and please don’t flag me if this somehow offends you. They were my pets and they died of old age and I stuck them in my freezer because I didn’t know what to do with them. I didn’t want to just throw them in the garbage. I thought about burying them in my garden but now I want their bones as a piece of cool art.
NinjaChow submitted this with the statement, “Craigslist never fails to surprise/amaze.” Good point. I just had my dog and cats cremated, never thought about using them for art. Wish we could hear how this one turned out.
Skeleton prep is not hard; there’s a disgusting YouTube video here. The trick is articulating the pieces afterwards. That’s a job for a museum preparator, not a taxidermist.
It’s a lot easier to buy one on Amazon, (made in China) if Sparky thinks it’s cool.
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Ok, I googled “taxidermy rat” and learned several things.
Turns out the typical charge at a taxidermist for “small pet” is $500.
Also, it turns out that eBay has all sorts of freeze-dried rodent available.
And, as Ralph points out, “skeleton mounts” are cheaper out of PRC and use synthetic ones less likely to have other issues (if likely to have oppression issues for being made by forced labor).
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