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Thread: Best way to skin(and cure) a snake?

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    Desert Dawg Badawg's Avatar
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    Default Best way to skin(and cure) a snake?

    Hey guys,

    One of my coworkers shot and killed a very nice sized timber rattler this morning and I grabbed the carcass to skin.

    Any advice on the best method for skinning it and curing the skin?
    "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke [1729-1797]


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    Over Taxed Under Paid Swamprat1958's Avatar
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    Badawg

    I can tell how not to cure one. I used salt on one and totally ruined it.

    Maybe someone else know the right way.

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Check with CowboySurvival. He just did one using salt.

    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ght=skin+snake
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    If your not looking for traditional, tandy leather sells a bottle of snake tan.http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/s.../22046-00.aspx
    I Wonder Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink what ever comes out?"

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Yeah but that's for snakes that plan on hitting the beach and want to look good. Snake tan in a bottle is better than a tanning bed but not by much.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Yeah but that's for snakes that plan on hitting the beach and want to look good. Snake tan in a bottle is better than a tanning bed but not by much.
    I was wondering why it came with a beachtowel and sunglasses
    I Wonder Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink what ever comes out?"

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    Desert Dawg Badawg's Avatar
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    Well I side slit and salted it. Sucker was 41" long and about 6" wide in the middle. I sandwiched it to hold it flat. Also, 10 rattles.
    "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke [1729-1797]

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Yeah, we have some baby snakes that small around here, too.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

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    Lone Wolf COWBOYSURVIVAL's Avatar
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    Hope you ate! They are the bomb on the grill! What other meat turns itself?
    Keep in mind the problem may be extremely complicated, though the "Fix" is often simple...

    "Teaching a child to fish is the "original" introduction to all that is wild." CS

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    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
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    typically a solution of alcohol and glycerine is used. After the salt cure to remove the "ground substance" from the skin, it is sprayed with the solution several times and allowed to become almost dry. Followed with some slight hand stretching if you want it soft and supple, or if it needs to be a bit stiffer just let it ride.
    I have not tanned snakes, only read about it so I cannot attest to how well it works. I am under the impression that brains would work. Sorry I can't be more help than that. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
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    I killed a 5' Western rattler on Easter Sunday. I stunned him with a piece of wood, then put my foot on his head and cut it off (the head, not my foot) with the blade of my Leatherman tool. Eleven rattles. I scraped the skin with a knife though very little of that was needed. The skin comes off easily. I pinned it flat (NOT stretched) to a board and painted it with a 50/50 solution of rubbing alcohol and glycerin about twice a day, letting it dry in the sun. After a couple days I turned it over and used the same procedure on the outside of the skin. It came out very soft and supple. Right now I have it rolled up in the freezer while I try to decide what to do with it. Guitar strap? Belt? It's almost but not quite big enough for both a belt and a hatband. The rattle will decorate one of my hiking sticks.

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    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
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    Excellent! Can't wait to see the finished pieces!!
    Did you take any pictures of the process?

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    Lone Wolf COWBOYSURVIVAL's Avatar
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    Am I the only one that eats'em...?
    Keep in mind the problem may be extremely complicated, though the "Fix" is often simple...

    "Teaching a child to fish is the "original" introduction to all that is wild." CS

    "How can you tell a story that has no end?" Doc Carlson

  14. #14

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    I wonder if a snake has enough brains to tan it's own hide?

    CS, probably! LOL!

    I'd eat one if it came my way.

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    Senior Member RCKCRWLER's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by COWBOYSURVIVAL View Post
    Am I the only one that eats'em...?
    I have to ask... I was told by an elderly desert dweller to watch it when eating wild rattlers. He said if they are bit by another, then you run the risk of ingesting the poison when you cook it. Wouldn't the rattler already be dead if bitten by another? Just asking, it's always puzzled me. Just trying not to end up in the Darwin recipient list of 2011.

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    I've also been told to watch if it's bitten itself. I don't think it would die from a poison it makes internally but I could be wrong.

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    Member Cousin-IT's Avatar
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    well i'd assume if the hide is good enough to use then there'd be no puncture marks and no puncture marks means no biting or poison, me i'd see if the hide (skin or whatever) can hold water first
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  18. #18

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    Use clean antifreeze. Place it in a jar and top up with antifreeze for about a week. Then spread out and nail to a board.

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by shiftyer1 View Post
    I've also been told to watch if it's bitten itself. I don't think it would die from a poison it makes internally but I could be wrong.
    As long as your digestive system is not damaged already. Snake venom is harmless when swallowed. So, eating a snake that has been bitten by another snake is not a worry.

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    Senior Member wilderness medic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Batch View Post
    As long as your digestive system is not damaged already. Snake venom is harmless when swallowed. So, eating a snake that has been bitten by another snake is not a worry.
    This.^

    There are a lot of stupid rumors and wives tales about snakes. The venom is fine as long as it isn't absorbed into your bloodstream.

    If you want them to be nice and last I recommend getting a "reptile tan" kit from somewhere like vandykestaxidermy.

    Glycerine makes it soft, much like antifreeze, but does not tan it. I use glycerine AFTER it has been tanned.

    Here are some various ones I tanned.

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