Hey there peeps,
I recently ordered a coyote skull from ebay, which unbeknownst to me, was poorly cleaned, and poorly packed. When I received it, the thing was smelly, greasy, and covered in mold. Also, the jaw was glued shut with hot glue, leaving plastic tendrils everywhere.
After having my messages ignored by the salesman, I decided to take matters in my own hands and fix it myself.
I started off with a water and dish soap bath, leaving the skull to soak for a couple of days. That got rid of the greasiness. Afterwards, I scrubbed the bones and soaked them in 70% solution of isopropyl alcohol, to help kill the nastiness and deal with the residual smell. I finished by leaving the bones rest for a couple of days in hydrogen peroxide, which whitened the skull, and help dissolve all residual mold and tissue still in the bone.
Once dry, it was a simple matter of gluing the teeth and the two halves of the lower jaw with good ol' elmer's glue, and I was left with a beautiful, squeaky-clean skull to adorn my bookshelves.
Pictures of the skull as I received it after the break. Be warned it's kinda gross.
