A few weeks ago, I lost one of my newest Leopard hatchlings to HFS. Near the end her shell had gone super soft and her plastron sunk in.
I was sad to loose her but I couldn't stop it from happening. I wanted to preserve her shell so her memory could live on. I could use her shell to help educate people when I teach on the hot and humid method or do turtle shows.
A lady I know has preserved CDT shells and she advised me to bury the baby and let ants clean it out since I couldn't stomach the clean out myself. Then I'd have just an empty shell. She then uses a clear ...something..on it and voila, a preserved shell.
I buried the baby after she passed and dug her up after 2 weeks. The bugs weren't done yet. :/ I gave it another week before I decided to check the shell progress again.
Well, it didn't work and I'm not sure where I went wrong. After 3 weeks in the ground when I grabbed the shell to check it, it squished in my hand like a jelly ball. All the Leopard print slid off the shell and left a white ball behind. It was weird.
Anyone else ever done this? What did I do wrong?
I'm seriously bummed it didn't work. I feel like I wasted her. I'd have preferred she lived but since she didn't, I at least wanted her shell to live on an educate people for years to come.
I was sad to loose her but I couldn't stop it from happening. I wanted to preserve her shell so her memory could live on. I could use her shell to help educate people when I teach on the hot and humid method or do turtle shows.
A lady I know has preserved CDT shells and she advised me to bury the baby and let ants clean it out since I couldn't stomach the clean out myself. Then I'd have just an empty shell. She then uses a clear ...something..on it and voila, a preserved shell.
I buried the baby after she passed and dug her up after 2 weeks. The bugs weren't done yet. :/ I gave it another week before I decided to check the shell progress again.
Well, it didn't work and I'm not sure where I went wrong. After 3 weeks in the ground when I grabbed the shell to check it, it squished in my hand like a jelly ball. All the Leopard print slid off the shell and left a white ball behind. It was weird.
Anyone else ever done this? What did I do wrong?
I'm seriously bummed it didn't work. I feel like I wasted her. I'd have preferred she lived but since she didn't, I at least wanted her shell to live on an educate people for years to come.