So a few months ago my large Orange Procambarus Clarkii passed away of natural causes. I didn't want to get rid of it because it was my favorite cray of all time. I froze it in my freezer to preserve it till i could figure out how to "Mummify" it.
After a lot of research i believed that i found the best way to do so; Ancient Egyptians originally used salt but then advanced to a specific substance that dehydrated the body better with next to no decay. I found that this substance is in everyday baking soda.
I didn't want my special cray to be the first I tested this method on so i experimented with a Caribe Piranha, and a Tarantula (which I also had frozen)... both were a success! ! It was now time to preserve my cray
Doing so was simple:
1) I first defrosted my cray completely and dried him off.
2) Next I filled a tupperware container about 1/4 inch high with baking soda.
3) I layed the Cray on the baking soda in the container and (here is the tricky part): Positioned him the way i wanted him to remain forever! So I opened his claws fully and shoved paper towel in between them to keep them open. Next I spaced out his legs evenly with more paper towel.
4) Once it was positioned the way I wanted, I filled the rest of the container -------> (covering him entirely) <------
It is important that air is not able to get to the cray because that will decay it. Then I simply closed the container and let it sit for a month (4 weeks)
5) I then opened it, un-dug it, and cleaned off all the baking soda.
@ this point if u lose a bit of color (more common in fish) u can tuch it up with paint and varnish it. All i need to do now is mount it on a display and it will be complete.
Heres what I ended up with:
After a lot of research i believed that i found the best way to do so; Ancient Egyptians originally used salt but then advanced to a specific substance that dehydrated the body better with next to no decay. I found that this substance is in everyday baking soda.
I didn't want my special cray to be the first I tested this method on so i experimented with a Caribe Piranha, and a Tarantula (which I also had frozen)... both were a success! ! It was now time to preserve my cray
Doing so was simple:
1) I first defrosted my cray completely and dried him off.
2) Next I filled a tupperware container about 1/4 inch high with baking soda.
3) I layed the Cray on the baking soda in the container and (here is the tricky part): Positioned him the way i wanted him to remain forever! So I opened his claws fully and shoved paper towel in between them to keep them open. Next I spaced out his legs evenly with more paper towel.
4) Once it was positioned the way I wanted, I filled the rest of the container -------> (covering him entirely) <------
It is important that air is not able to get to the cray because that will decay it. Then I simply closed the container and let it sit for a month (4 weeks)
5) I then opened it, un-dug it, and cleaned off all the baking soda.
@ this point if u lose a bit of color (more common in fish) u can tuch it up with paint and varnish it. All i need to do now is mount it on a display and it will be complete.
Heres what I ended up with:
