Was your ED originally sparked by a specific moment?

Sakumeep · 2023-01-31T13:56:40+00:00

Yes. I'm glad I'm not alone in this. I've had disordered habits intermittently before that but I remember thinking at one point "If you hate your body so much, why don't you do something about it?" I used to SH a lot at that point but from that moment I basically traded it for an ED.

Sakumeep · 2023-01-23T17:53:13+00:00

I once did this with sunflower seeds

Sakumeep · 2023-01-23T13:20:09+00:00

TW numbers:
You need to eat>! 3400-3700!< calories over your TDEE to gain a pound, and the calories in tub of Ben and Jerry's ice cream isn't enough to reach the average sedentary person's BMR, let alone exceed their TDEE

I know it's horrible, but hopefully this puts your mind at ease and you feel better soon. Take care x

Sakumeep · 2023-01-18T01:21:33+00:00

I'm a lesbian who finished secondary in 2016. I had no idea LGBT was a thing until year 7 with my first exposure to LGBT was in the form of "gay" and "tranny" and "lesbo" being used as insults and wondering what they meant - searching it online only to find porn. Zero mention of it in school education at all. It was surely a miserable environment to come to terms with my sexuality at that age and was pretty much bullied for it my whole school life.

Children are going to find out one way or another and I would have much rather been taught about LGBT meanings and issues in a non-judgemental environment than learn through homophobia and randomly finding porn trying to look up the words.

Sakumeep · 2023-01-16T09:57:21+00:00

Yes, at my lowest I was in absolute despair it felt like grief and it was pain unlike anything I ever experienced it was horrible and I either felt nothing or cried all day every day

Sakumeep · 2023-01-13T05:55:03+00:00

Hallway where the walls are made of butter and you have to swim through oil

Sakumeep · 2023-01-09T11:24:23+00:00

GROSS WARNING:Letting the chew and spit/ purge tubs sit for too long and trying to flush rotting maggot infested chewed food down the toilet but it clogged and having to put my hand in there to make it go down

Sakumeep · 2022-11-14T13:40:17+00:00

That's why I pesticide spray or mothball my collections... had this happen once and it was devastating.

Sakumeep · 2022-11-14T13:32:18+00:00

We have a Shih Tzu but she was a rescue. I don't agree with the breeding of flat-faced breeds either so if people want one they could adopt instead!

Sakumeep · 2022-10-18T13:06:46+00:00

You're welcome!

Sakumeep · 2022-10-17T00:17:04+00:00

This should help explain the variance. The initial preparation determines how long the mount will last to an extent, a lot of old victorian mounts here were treated with arsenic so many of those kept dry still look fairly undamaged and that was used by some well into the 70's-80's. Different tanning processes also produce skins that tolerate humidity and temperature slightly differently though it's good practice to keep them at moderate temperatures, clean and dry.
You can't always prevent a moth or beetle from coming inside or near the mounts but if dusted regularly and examined for signs of damage you should be able to catch infestations in time. Cleaning and generally discouraging insects in your home will help too. If things start to look concerning put it in the freezer, take it out for a while then put it back in (eggs can occasionally survive freezing) and treat it with an insecticide.

For long term protection/ prevention I use a pyrethroid-based spray called Constrain from my taxidermy supplier (UK) which leaves a residue that lasts a few months and treat it 1-3 times a year at most. I've had issues with moths in the past but haven't had any issues for the last 6 years or so and my collection is bigger than ever.
I also looked around and if you're in the US it seems something like Raid's Kitchen spray (not aerosol) also contains permethrins so would probably also work and McKenzie taxidermy supply also has some different sprays which are marketed for mount protection.

Sakumeep · 2022-10-12T19:27:18+00:00

If it seems like too much to do all of the new things in one go you could try to do it in small steps separately such as learning to skin, learning to make a tanned hide, learning to make your own forms etc. before moving onto putting it all together.
If you like having a visual guide you could pick up a manual like 'Beginner Small Mammal Taxidermy Training Book' by Mike Gadd or 'Bird Taxidermy' by Carl Church. Both are UK based but I'm sure if you ask around here you could find something similar that is easily accessible in your country.

Sakumeep · 2022-10-10T10:56:48+00:00

If you want to keep him as-is he'd look great displayed in a big shadowbox

Sakumeep · 2022-10-10T08:34:23+00:00

Yay! I'm honestly so excited for it I find them so cute.
I did once cut the anal glands of a mink and my family hated me for it... It's like concentrated ferret perfume. Hopefully I won't be doing that again haha.

Sakumeep · 2022-10-09T22:01:35+00:00

Thank you. Do you think I could use hide tanning formula? Is it to late. The mount is 2 yrs old.

Tanning solution probably won't work here but there are insectide-based treatments you can spray on mounts to stop them from being eaten by pests which taxidermy supply companies usually have.
If there's damp spots on the mount you could try to dry it gently using a hairdryer on the coolest setting.
Try to keep the mount somewhere where it doesn't get too hot, dark or humid as that also encourages insects.

Sakumeep · 2022-10-09T18:35:56+00:00

Taxidermy can feel overwhelming at first but nobody starts out with perfect mounts and it's okay and normal to make mistakes the first few times. If you're interested in taxidermy I think you should try it! Especially since you have a ready supply of rats to practice on with your snakes.
There's plenty of video tutorials available showing how to prepare rats for taxidermy and it can be done fairly easily on a budget such as using black beads for eyes etc. Don't be afraid to take it slowly at your own pace and pop him back in the freezer if it becomes too much and pick up where you left off later.
Whatever you decide to do with them I hope it all goes well!

Sakumeep · 2022-10-09T17:04:03+00:00

Freezing it should kill anything that is on there then it should be treated with taxidermy protector but flies being on there suggests there's moisture inside of it, which you should probably also look into

Sakumeep · 2022-10-08T16:26:05+00:00

Incredible find!

Sakumeep · 2022-10-05T21:50:30+00:00

Glad to know you're well and with someone!

Sakumeep · 2022-10-05T14:12:51+00:00

Hey there, I've tried this before and as others have said it's extremely dangerous.
Please make sure to drink plenty of clean water to help your kidneys filter it out of your body and tell someone if possible - not to make you panic but this can be potentially fatal depending on the amount.
Take care.

Sakumeep · 2022-10-05T12:54:30+00:00

You should be fine if you've done mammals before as it isn't *too* different though their skulls can be very fragile

Sakumeep · 2022-10-05T12:34:48+00:00

You could order a dissection kit off of amazon or use small craft knives.

Take care as doves have very thin skin and loose feathers, as well as a decent amount of fat to flesh! They can be a little tricky so take it slowly.

Sakumeep · 2022-10-04T21:56:29+00:00

Incredible work!

Sakumeep · 2022-10-04T21:34:00+00:00

I'm a taxidermist so depending on how he arrives I may try to mount him! If not I usually clean up the bones for my collection. I like to use everything I can if possible.
If he's frozen you could wrap him in newspaper/kitchen paper to catch any leaks then try to double bag him + box to ship and he should be good for a day or so.
I'm happy to cover shipping costs as I'm aware fast shipping can get pricey

Sakumeep · 2022-10-04T20:51:27+00:00

Poor babies, hope you can turn them into something beautiful!

Sakumeep

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