MOUNTING REPTILES, FROGS AND TOADS.
The largest reptile of the United States, the alligator, is mounted by
methods applied to medium sized animals. Leg, head and tail rods are
stapled to a stout back board and after building up the legs from tow
the larger part of the body is filled by stuffing with coarse tow or
fine excelsior. Let the skin rest back down while engaged in this,
sewing up the skin as it proceeds, with stout twine and a sail needle.
You may even need to use the awl to pierce the armor like skin.
For any natural position the leg irons need not be heavy as this animal
usually keeps its body and tail in contact with the ground. The leg rods
are clinched or bolted beneath the pedestal as in other quadrupeds and
in addition some long screws are turned into the back board from below
and the tail held down by wire fastened to its central support and
clinched beneath the pedestal.
All but the smallest lizards are mounted in the same way as the small
fur-bearers. There is apparently no known mode of "stuffing" a snake so
as to resemble its natural state.
The skin must be placed on a carefully modelled manikin with a plastic
layer between. For small snakes tow is wound on a wire and shaped with
thread, and excelsior is used in the same way for the large ones.
The larger manikins are to be posed and paper coated in most cases
before receiving the skin. Frogs and toads are also very difficult to
mount in natural positions, but are nicely represented in painted casts.
Frogs, however, possess the distinction of not having to be sewed up,
when skinned as they usually are through the mouth. In doing this the
entire body is dissected away through the mouth and the legs are
detached and skinned the same way.
After turning completely wrong side out and poisoning the legs are
wired, wrapped with tow or cotton in the same manner as other small
animals. One hind leg wire is cut long enough to reach through the body
and head and to this the other leg wires are twisted. Some claim that to
leave the vertebral column attached to the skin of the back is an
invaluable aid in giving that part its proper shape.
[Illustration: WIRING SYSTEM FOR FROG.]
The body filling is tow or cotton placed through the mouth in small
pieces until the proper shape is acquired. Dry sand has been used to
fill the bodies of frogs, being poured in the mouth through a funnel and
retained by a cotton plug until the skin was dry, when it was poured
out.
Painting and varnishing are required to finish mounted frogs. The frog
is a favorite with the caricaturist as it can be made to take almost any
human posture with laughable results.
Turtles may be mounted by wrapping and wiring legs, tail and head like
other small animals, after detaching the under shell on three sides,
removing the body and skinning the limbs. The tow wrapped legs should
have a covering of soft clay which can be shaped with the fingers after
they are returned to the skin.
Twisting the wires together is all right for the small turtles, large
ones need a block of wood to clinch the wires in. The under shell is
replaced and fastened with small wires and as enough skin was left
attached to it to sew to, all cuts are closed that way. Heavy wires are
seldom necessary in turtles. Those having bright colored shells will
need to be touched up with paint and all should be varnished thinly to
give a fresh appearance.