Recent content by mpetty04

  1. mpetty04

    Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

    I agree completely. There are many things I've done that haven't been discussed here. I tried to give a basic outline of what I did. I know the situation is not ideal. But sending the bear out is not an option for several reasons. I've waited over 40 years for a bear blanket, and there's no...
  2. mpetty04

    Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

    I did all that, except split the cartilage. I had a small amount if hair loss on one ear and tail, which tells me I didn't do it quite right. But I knew these parts were going to be questionable for me to do anyway. I'm not a hunter, trapper or taxidermist. I just really really want a bear...
  3. mpetty04

    Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

    Yes to all. Removed meat and bones down to the last knuckle.
  4. mpetty04

    Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

    Probably heading in that direction. I really prefer to have the head and paws intact. Worse case scenario, I'll cut them off and process separately.
  5. mpetty04

    Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

    Yes! That is what it is! Dozens and dozens of little patches like that. I washed with dawn today, and scrubbed the head and paws really well. No evidence of larvae right now. I did some more trimming of little bits of fat/tendons. So if I put the head and paws back in salt, do I basically...
  6. mpetty04

    Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

    I disagree. I feel like mites would have been visible prior to this point, and they have not been. I used to work at the vet so I'm familiar with mange. These larvae showed up after the hide had been through 8 days of salt and scrape, and then 16 hours of salt bath. They were definitely not...
  7. mpetty04

    Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

    I've had no hair loss to this point. I've even tugged on the hair to see if it's going to come out, and nothing happens. I have felt pretty good about it up until I saw these larvae. I'm a little nervous now. I went ahead and put the hide in the first Dawn bath earlier. I'll be scrubbing it...
  8. mpetty04

    Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

    Hi All, I know I've probably done a dozen things wrong in trying to tan this bear hide.... Ok, I've fleshed, scraped, and salted the hide. Put it in the salt bath. Took it out, let it partially dry before washing with Dawn. So while it was drying a bit, I noticed that there are a lot of...
  9. mpetty04

    Tanning A Bear Hide

    Absolutely nothing but salt has been on this hide, not even water. But the nails are definitely splitting. And it has been treated like royalty. I've waited my entire life for this bear, and I'm not taking any chances 😆 See the attached pics. You can see that the first ones are not split (the...
  10. mpetty04

    Tanning A Bear Hide

    Well, now that's a good point on repairing holes. I was asking because I read that you would cut and sew the armpits while you were setting the hide to dry. I can absolutely see waiting to the end, though.
  11. mpetty04

    Tanning A Bear Hide

    I'm tanning it myself with Deer Hunters and Trappers tanning formula. I've definitely been rubbing the salt in. This is day 6 of salt and there is a definite difference.
  12. mpetty04

    Tanning A Bear Hide

    First time poster here. Not entirely sure if I'm posting in the correct forum. I've got my first bear hide, working on it, and I have a few questions. Repairing holes - there are a few holes in my hide that I'm fairly certain I can repair. What is the best stage to do this? After the tanning...
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