Chameleon skull: jewelry related

[ChamomilleCame]

Hi everyone,
I've been thinking about how I would keep a memory of my chameleon when he passes (he is fine and healthy, I won't have to worry about this for several more years!). I'm just very curious how I could make the skull (or any fragile bone for that matter) into a pendant, whether it be by plating or coating it with enamel or something similar. I do realise that their bones are extremely fragile and I would have to decompose the skin, organs, etc in a controlled setting with a neutral pH soil. How do specimen collectors keep bones without brittling? I can't seem to find any information on how to successfully have a fragile bone hardened with some other agent so I could use it as a pendant and not worry about the bone cracking or breaking off. Any ideas?

 

[Angelwolf]

Well, it's a little different, but i have my dog's ashes in a glass bottle around my neck with some of those "living locker charms" inside. At least that may be an alternative, if you can't figure out the bone thing.

 

[Dave Bolamperti]

Hi everyone,
I've been thinking about how I would keep a memory of my chameleon when he passes (he is fine and healthy, I won't have to worry about this for several more years!). I'm just very curious how I could make the skull (or any fragile bone for that matter) into a pendant, whether it be by plating or coating it with enamel or something similar. I do realise that their bones are extremely fragile and I would have to decompose the skin, organs, etc in a controlled setting with a neutral pH soil. How do specimen collectors keep bones without brittling? I can't seem to find any information on how to successfully have a fragile bone hardened with some other agent so I could use it as a pendant and not worry about the bone cracking or breaking off. Any ideas?

I have played around a little with this also . I have a small container with dermestid beetles that will clean everything off the small bones of animals , then put the bones in a cup with bleach to whiten , then rinse with water and allow to dry Many taxidermist use them . I just used a clear coat spray paint to help preserve and harden small bones. If that's too gross for you, take it to your local taxidermy shop
Good luck Dave

 

[Andee]

Yes dermestid beetles do a great job at cleaning flesh without damaging the bones at all. So I would strongly recommend going Dave's way

 

[Angelwolf]

I thought of that too, but where would someone get those kind of beetles?

 

[FancyRaptor]

I thought of that too, but where would someone get those kind of beetles?

Actually LLLReptile sells them https://www.lllreptile.com/products/33058-dermestid-beetles

 

[ChamomilleCame]

I have played around a little with this also . I have a small container with dermestid beetles that will clean everything off the small bones of animals , then put the bones in a cup with bleach to whiten , then rinse with water and allow to dry Many taxidermist use them . I just used a clear coat spray paint to help preserve and harden small bones. If that's too gross for you, take it to your local taxidermy shop
Good luck Dave

Not too gross at all, thank you! I guess I could test out a part of the skeleton in the bleach before the actuall skull, just in case it's too harsh for it. But I guess if taxidermists use it, it shouldn't be a huge problem

 

[Twitchet]

I was a taxidermist for 15 years but I have read up more about cleaning skulls lately,
I have a great book called Skulls by Simon Winchester, Alan Dudley the collector and cleaner of the hundreds of the rare skulls featured said he found maggots too brutal in their cleaning and the method he most favoured was cold maceration, cold water is better , he said you can boil but that causes damage, he described cold maceration as extremely smelly. He suggested he never ever used bleach and cleaned up with carefully hydrogen peroxide, then lightly varnished.
Disclaimer.. I'm only quoting the God of skull cleaning, I've never tried these methods so don't know , just thought you might be interested.
I used to boil and bleach my deer and fox skulls but I was presenting them just as trophies, and have used dermestids too.