Have you just picked up your mount from the taxidermist? To ensure your prize stays youthful and maintains its lifelike features, it’s important to take proper care of your animal mounts after taxidermy in Cody, WY. To start, avoid hanging your trophies in the following areas.
Near windows
The quickest way to ruin a hunting trophy at home is to place it near a window. Ultraviolet rays are fast acting streams of harmful light that have gained a bad reputation for wreaking havoc on everything from paintings to furniture, making items lose their luster. This is no different for animal mounts hanging in the path of UV sunlight. In the end, what you are left with is a dull colored, old, mangy mount that once looked truly lifelike and used to be display-worthy. Instead of direct sunlight, get display lights to draw attention on your collection.
In the basement
Basements tend to not only be cold, but damp as well, and a spot in your house that contains moisture is not prime real estate for hanging your mounts. Whether it’s got fur, feathers, scales or a sleek tanned hide, your once lovely mounts will soon begin to grow surface mold or mildew, which, if not caught in time, will spread all over as well as under animal skins. Especially keep taxidermy work away from heavy basement moisture and humidity.
Basements converted into usable living space or that are not damp may be okay for animal mounts, but keep a close eye on them until you are sure moisture is not a problem. In short, all mounts must remain dry to maintain a life-like appearance that’s 100 percent worthy of putting out on display.
Over the fireplace
We’ve all seen movies and old cartoons depicting hunting cabin fireplace scenes. Above the mantel are animal heads firmly attached to wooden plaques, while below a hot fire rages as the characters enjoy a good laugh and drinks. Well, that placement is not recommended unless the fireplace is out of commission, since heat, especially dry heat, is horribly bad for mounts. You’ll also want to avoid wood stoves, kitchen ovens and other heating devices. Instead of helping to preserve taxidermy in Cody, WY, heat dries out the animal hide, causing it to shrink and hair, fur or feathers to fall into a dry, brittle state.
If you don’t want your prized mounts’ appearance to reduce down to the equivalent of a giant, crusty old raisin, keep them far away from active fireplaces and other sources of dry heat.
Furthermore, refrain from storing animal mounts in places where insects may live, even if you wrap them up properly. Moths thrive in dark, musty spaces, so beware of leaving mounts in closets or up in the attic for storage. Although some insect damage can be repaired, your taxidermy may never look the same again.
For quality taxidermy in Cody, WY, and to discuss services, trophy room design and field prep with a professional taxidermist, call the skilled team at Nature’s Design Taxidermy today.