How Do You Cure Snakeskin

[stevef]

anyone any idea how to cure a snakeskin that is when i catch the dam_n thing and hoping the locals dont get it first??how do you go about curing the skin??

[rametindallas]

Curing Snakeskin

This response submitted by Henry on 08/15/2003. ( [email protected] ) 68.117.184.187

Remove the head, if it is a poisonous snake be careful they are dangerous even after the snake is dead.

Cut down the middle of the belly plates with a pair of scissors or snips.

Remove the skin from the carcass. Try to maintain a steady presure, the skin should peel easkil from the neck to the vent.

Remove the skin from the vent, this requires some delicate knife work. You might use a box cutter for this, they are sharp.

Remove any remaining fat or meat from the hide, about the same as you would skin a fish, keeping the blade almost flat and work with a smooth sawing strokes to acoid cuts or tears in the hide.

When the sking is removed and scraped clean, rinse and carefully the inside for any bile or blood stains. Wash them away.

Now to the Curing part:

Fill a gallon jug two-thirds full of water. Dissolve as much plain salt (non-iodized) in the water as possible. Stir the water as you add the salt and when you see the crystals innking to the bottom instead of dessolving, that is enough salt. (It will take about 2 lbs of salt to a gallon of water)

Place the skin in loose fold (not rolled) in the salt water solution.

Seal the jug, and leave a room temperature (70 degrees) for four days. Rotate the jug gently once or twice a day.

Remove from he salt water on the fourth day. Rince for seveal minutes and lightly pat dry on towels.

Mix a solution of equal parts glycerin and water. Pure glycerin is avalable at most drugstores.

Two pints of glycerin mixed with water is sufficient to treat three medium-sized snakeskins.

Place the skin in the glycerin solution, cover and let stand at room temperature for another four days. Rotate but do not shake the jug daily.

After the skin has been in the glycerin solution four days, remove and pat dry with a towel.

Place the dry skin on an unfinished, dry, flat pine board. The boards must be long and wide enought to sandwich the whole skin. Do not stretch the skin to flatten it, just roll it out smoothly on the board. Use the flat of your hand to remove and wrinkles.

Place a second pine board on top of the skin. The skin must be firmly pressed, so weigh down the top board.

Let dry for four days. It may take a little longer in the dead of winter or in humid conditions. When the skin is dry, it will be soft and pliable. Put a little talcum powder on the dry hide and roll it around on an old paper-towel roll ( one of those cardboard rollers) and it will keep until you are ready to turn it into a hatband or mount it on a display board.

[Cuban]

Fill a gallon jug two-thirds full of water. Dissolve as much plain salt (non-iodized) in the water as possible.

If you can get Saltpetre (Ponu: Salt Peter) aka Potassium Nitrate I would use that - I have direct experience with animal skins in the past. But as I doubt you want to keep it for a long time just plain salt will stop it going bad too quickly.