A prepared chinchilla skull

Specimen Preparation

Bone specimens

For those who are not too squeamish, preparation of skulls and other bones from small animals can be accomplished quite simply.

• Divide the body at joints to provide small samples
  eg. legs, head, spine, pelvis
• Remove excess soft tissue
• Place sample in a small container~ with enough dilute (1%) hydrogen peroxide solution to cover it/them *
• Heat until boiling~
• Simmer for 1-5 minutes #
• Remove from heat and test whether flesh has softened
  If not;
  • top up peroxide solution
  • heat and simmer again for 1-5 minutes
  • repeat test
• Rinse thoroughly to remove peroxide
• Use fine forceps and wooden cocktail sticks to remove softened flesh.
• Soak in dilute detergent, rinse thoroughly and air dry.

~ Plastic container for microwave oven or use old stainless steel saucepan. Do not place metal containers in a microwave.

* If working in a domestic situation add a crushed clove of garlic as this will mask the odour of boiling bones.

# It is important to control the boiling time otherwise all the collagen will become soluble and get washed out making the bones brittle. Loss of the collagenous periodontal tissue also loosens the teeth. For dental study it is preferable to have specimens with some residual tendon attachments as the periodontal attachment will not have been destroyed and the teeth will be held firmly in place.

When preparing a chinchilla skull start with 3 minutes boiling, and then reduce to 2 minute increments when further boiling is needed. Most fresh or thawed frozen skulls require about 5 minutes. Skulls that have been pre-fixed in formalin may require twice as long.

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