Taxidermy and pelts of small mammals

Stoat and weasel pelts. CC image by Kurschner.

This might be an option you'd like to try. Obviously it's not for the squeamish, but it's probably slightly less gruesome than the skull-defleshing, brain-scrambling option of obtaining a skull.

I will admit, I have no experience of this technique. It's possible that one of my colleagues does (perhaps Dave B.). If you want to try it, some first-hand advice might be the best place to start.

Funnily enough, technical details of the process aren't that easy to come by these days (it's not something that's going to appeal to the producers of Springwatch, for example). But there's been a resurgence of interest in taxidermy recently. This tutorial on the Dark Artifacts blog seems really clear - it shows the skinning and stuffing of a rat. It makes it look rather do-able.

In the past, unpleasant chemicals like arsenic were used for preservation. Borax or salt has been used as an alternative (you do have to get rid of all the subcutaneous fat for it to be effective). The animal's body is removed from the skin through a longitudinal slit in the abdomen. The tail and legs are supported by wrapped lengths of wire. The body is padded with cotton wool, and then the slit in the abdomen is sewn shut, as is the mouth.

The pelts we used to have were quite flat, like the stoats and weasels above. The body was supported by a piece of cardboard, rather than being stuffed. The front legs are directed forward and the back legs backward.

I also found a very comprehensive booklet online called Collecting and Preparing Study Specimens of Vertebrates, by E. Raymond Hall.  Its style certainly reflects the fact it was written in America in 1962. But once you've got past that, you may find some useful information. Mr Hall rather confidently says on p.18 that "with experience, less than a minute should be required to skin a mouse."

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