Tanning Formula.

[okrattler]

I have a few bottles of this Deer Hunters and Trappers Hide Tanning Formula. Comes in an orange bottle, well anyways I've had it for a while just never used it. Thought about tanning a rattlesnake skin with it. Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? I probably will try it on a few smaller snake skins before I try it on the one I want to hang on my wall. I just wasn't sure if this stuff was any good or not.

[Texas Grown]

The only thing you need to tan snake hides is 50% Wintergreen alcohol, and 50% Glycerin. The glycerin can be got in the cosmetics dept in CVS, Walgreens, or Walmarts. Two ways to do it: 1) stretch hide out on a board and pin. Mix up solution. Two coats on the hide letting it dry between coats. Then flip and repin hide. Do two coats again. Wait till it drys to unpin. And it will be soft and supple. 2) Mix up solution in large jar. Roll skin up and place in the jar of solution making sure it's fully submerged for a week. After one week, remove skin and wipe off excess. Lay out to dry. It will stay soft and supple. This was taught to me by a buddy who does world class mounts. And has a museum and taxi service in Grandbury Texas. Regular rubbing alcohol can be subbed for Wintergreen. The smell of wintergreen will help offset the odor of the skin, until it airs out good.

Be sure to remove any fat or muscle from the hide before treating it.

[okrattler]

I've done a few that way but after researching it a lot of taxidermist on the net suggest that's not really tanning. Rather it's just preserving. Apparently there is a difference. I skinned out the head and everything so I plan on putting a reproduction scale sized model of a snakes head plus glass eyes in it and actually mounting that part of the snake. Glycerin treated snake skins always have an oily feel and since that's my plan I think having a true tanned skinned would probably be better for what little of the mounting process I'm going to do. Which seems to be what taxidermist on the internet say. If I was skipping that part I probably would go the glycerin route.

I was going to do an open mouth head but I can't find the head. I thought I saved it because I was going to use the actual fangs from that snake. I must've thrown it away. I just know you gotta be super careful when you're skinning out the head. One of those fangs stabbed the crap out of me. First time I ever got "bit" by a dead snake before.

[okrattler]

The instructions call for salting the hide. I really don't get that part though because I flesh it before I pin it to a board. A lot of things I read said to salt and then scrape that stuff off after it's dried. I don't want to skip a step and mess it up but I really don't get what the salting and drying process is supposed to do unless it has something to do with how the fibers in the skin accept the tanning solution. I always have kept salt off and just let the skin air dry.

[buck_wild]

You should be able to skip the salting part for a snake skin. The salt to is remove moisture from a fresh animal cape. I've never used this stuff so I can't comment from first hand knowledge but I bet it's geared more for deer than snakes. As mentioned before there are a ton of snake mounts out there using the 50/50 mix of alcohol and glycerin. Let us know how it turns out.

[okrattler]

You should be able to skip the salting part for a snake skin. The salt to is remove moisture from a fresh animal cape. I've never used this stuff so I can't comment from first hand knowledge but I bet it's geared more for deer than snakes. As mentioned before there are a ton of snake mounts out there using the 50/50 mix of alcohol and glycerin. Let us know how it turns out.

I was thinking the same thing. From the way I understand it the salt draws grease and stuff out of hides with fur. But there's not really anything greasy about a snake hide. Just a thin membrane I guess you'd call it on the flesh side of the skin. That's why I figured salt may not be necessary because the fleshing would take care of that.

I have a small unsalted snake hide tacked to a board right now. I will try the tan on it and see how it turns out. When my good snake skin is finished up I'll post the finished product.

[buck_wild]

Use a tablespoon to remove the meat/membrane from the belly areas. Scrap from the middle to the edge of each scale. Go sideways. NEVER scrap against the scale grain.

[okrattler]

Use a tablespoon to remove the meat/membrane from the belly areas. Scrap from the middle to the edge of each scale. Go sideways. NEVER scrap against the scale grain.

That's how I've done it too in the past. Tried using a butter knife years ago and ripped the skin. The belly scales seem to have the most meat or fat or whatever that jelly like stuff is.

I'm gonna have to flesh around the heat pits and stuff on the head. It's pretty hard skinning out that part. For me anyways. I haven't done it enough to be real great at it but I did pretty good.

[DesertDug]

do not use your Tanning formula, it is not make for snake skin. Deer, Raccoons etc ok... For snakes as stated before " 50% Wintergreen alcohol, and 50% Glycerin"

[okrattler]

do not use your Tanning formula, it is not make for snake skin. Deer, Raccoons etc ok... For snakes as stated before " 50% Wintergreen alcohol, and 50% Glycerin"

It says on the label it'll do alligator and snake skin.

[Texas Grown]

It says on the label it'll do alligator and snake skin.

By all means, go ahead and do it then. I was just offering an alternative "solution", pun intended. Then you can determine how you want to do your next one.

[okrattler]

By all means, go ahead and do it then. I was just offering an alternative "solution", pun intended. Then you can determine how you want to do your next one.

I'll give it a shot. I need to get that stuff used up anyways. I may tan a bobcat if I get a nice one. Possibly a coyote. I don't know, I'll start this experiment and see how I do before I get too carried away.

[okrattler]

I gave my buddy a bottle of this stuff a few Winters ago and he tanned a bobcat hide. He lives an hour from me so I wasn't in on the whole process. I just skinned the cat for him and he took over from there.

[okrattler]

Okay so I have a practice skin I've had on a board for a while that's been fleshed and air dried going right now. I just applied a coat of the tanning solution. It's too early in the game to tell how it'll turn out. I will say this for certain right out of the gate. If they made a cologne that smelled like that tanning solution I'd wear it. That stuff smells pretty darn good.

Shoot I might put a little of that on before I go on a date one of these days. That's some good stuff.

[wytex]

Might turn out ok but we use Snake Tan now, Knobloch's Reptile Tan is also supposed to be good.