We’ve been finding a lot of small animal bones lately and they’ve been a great addition to our nature studies. I had a lot of people ask about our process to clean them, so I decided to document our most recent finds. For the purpose of this tutorial I’ll be starting with bones that are already free of flesh and soft tissue. The rodent bones in this tutorial were humanely collected and free of soft tissue for the most part when we found them. If you are working with a fresh specimen you will need to remove the soft tissue first. It’s best to let specimens naturally decompose, and the two methods I am most familiar with are maceration (soaking) and burying. They both can take several months and the more flesh you start with, the longer the specimen will take to prepare. I personally don’t have experience with preparing fresh specimens (it is also illegal to collect roadkill here in CA) so I won’t go into detail of how to carry out these methods. If you are interested, there is a lot of information online on these methods.
We’ll be using a highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide to clean and whiten the bones. Cleaning the bones with hydrogen peroxide will sanitize them and kill any harmful bacteria while also whitening them. We display our bones on Elliot’s nature shelves and also use them in our nature studies, so making sure that they are safe to handle is crucial for us. For the fastest results you can use a 20 or 30 percent concentration, but I’ve had great results using 40v hair developer which contains 12% hydrogen peroxide. It is essentially the same, easier to obtain and more affordable. Take care when working with concentrated hydrogen peroxide and keep out of reach of children and pets. Never use bleach on bones as it will damage the bone and in time the bone will start to yellow.
Notes on collecting specimens:
– Check your state regulations before collecting any specimens. Many states may require a permit to legally collect wildlife specimens. There are several legally restricted species that are protected by state and federal laws. It is also illegal to collect any endangered species in any state.
– Collect humanely and please be conscious of your impact on the environment when doing so. Do not collect in large quantities at a time and please don’t collect with intent to sell.
– Please do not kill living creatures to obtain specimens.
– Always use sanitary methods when collecting fresh specimens and/or bones and supervise children and pets at all times. Handle fresh skulls with disposable gloves to protect yourself against viruses.
Materials:
– a container large enough for your skull or bones
– something to cover the container
– 40v hair developer (12% hydrogen peroxide)
– old toothbrush
– dish soap
– rubber gloves
– animal skull or bones
Instructions for cleaning animal bones:
Fill a bowl with water and dish soap and use an old toothbrush to gently scrub and clean your bones. The cleaner the better. If you’re cleaning a skull, small teeth may fall out in the process. Just hang onto them and glue them back on at the end once everything is dry. Soak your bones in a new container of water and dish soap for 24 hours to degrease the bones. If there is a lot of grease that collects on the surface, change out the soapy water and do another round of degreasing until they are sufficiently de-greased. You’d be surprised at how much grease comes out of the bones!
The next morning, rinse your bones thoroughly and place them into a new bowl. Cover with a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide/hair developer and water. Make sure that the bones are fully submerged. Cover loosely with a lid and let sit for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, check on your bones and if you are happy with the whiteness, rinse thoroughly and let dry. If you’d like to soak them longer, change out the hydrogen peroxide mixture and check on them in another 24 hours. I’ve soaked bones up to 48 hours successfully. Keep in mind that they will dry a bit whiter than they look when they are wet.
Let the bones dry completely. Use a small amount of white glue to glue any that have fallen out teeth back in, then display on your shelf!
FAQs
Cleaning the bones with hydrogen peroxide will sanitize them and kill any harmful bacteria while also whitening them. We display our bones on Elliot's nature shelves and also use them in our nature studies, so making sure that they are safe to handle is crucial for us.
How do you clean animal bones for display? ›
Rinse, then soak in a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution for several hours, removing the bones as soon as they have achieved your desired shade of white. Rinse thoroughly, let dry, and glue any escaped teeth back in. (This only applies if you're working with a skull, obviously; don't glue teeth onto a femur.
How do you prepare animal skulls for display? ›
Keep the skull intact or cut it in two if you wish. Scrape out as much flesh, blood and brain matter as possible. Also remove the fine bone structure inside the nose, which will allow you to reach the material behind it. If you wish to keep the skull intact, rinse it via the spinal opening to remove brain matter.
How do you decontaminate animal bones? ›
Cleaning bones using biological washing powder
Biological washing powder contains enzymes are tiny, tiny organisms which break down fat and soft tissue. You add the powder to hot or warm water (not boiling water, see below) and leave bones in for usually a few days. It helps if the water is kept warm in this time.
What does vinegar do to bones? ›
Eating a well balanced diet that includes foods rich in calcium is an important way to keep bones healthy. In this activity, vinegar, an acid, will slowly dissolve the calcium in the bones, making the bones weak.
How long to soak bones in hydrogen peroxide? ›
Small and delicate bones can be damaged from high concentrations or long treatments. Keep in mind hydrogen peroxide is deactivated by light. Leave bones in peroxide for about 24–48 hours, then remove and let them dry for several hours. Bone can appear much darker than expected just from being wet.
Can you clean bones with hydrogen peroxide? ›
After you've soaked the bones for 3 to 4 days, rinse them with clean water, then scrub them with an old brush and a warm water and hydrogen peroxide solution. This will disinfect them and make them whiter.
How do you bleach bones for display? ›
However, you can bleach them a bit by soaking them in hydrogen peroxide.
- Put the bones in your bucket.
- Pour in your hydrogen peroxide.
- Then top it with water.
- The bones will start foaming, which means the hydrogen peroxide is working. ...
- Loosely cover the bones while they soak. ...
- Let the bones whiten for about 24 hours.
Don't use liquid bleach, it is harsher to the bone and does not have the enzyme action that is needed to break down residual tissue. Leave big skulls (bear, wolf, caribou, bison) in this solution for three days. Smaller skulls may require less than 1 ½ days.
How do you preserve bones for display? ›
You'll want to submerge the bones in hydrogen peroxide to achieve this effect. Cover the bones completely and soak them in it for a few days, checking every other day to ensure they're not drying out.
Clean the skull by placing it in a warm water bath with 2 US tbsp (30 mL) per gallon of water of an enzymatic laundry detergent for up to 7 weeks. Remove the skull and let it air dry for at least 24 hours. Then set it in a 3-6% hydrogen peroxide bath for 7-10 hours to bleach it until it's off-white.
Can you clean a skull with vinegar? ›
Vinegar. Vinegar can be added to the boiling water to help remove any remaining tissue or fat on the skull. It also helps to neutralize any odors that may be present. It is important to dilute the vinegar before using it on the skull.
Can you use borax to clean animal bones? ›
Mix a saturate solution of borax in cold water in a sufficiently large plastic bucket or trash can and soak the head for three or four days and no more than a week. 2). For the next and most difficult step, you will need a propane burner and large steel or aluminum pot.
How do you prepare bones for carving? ›
Simmer the bones for about two hours to remove the meat and sinew; don't boil it, she says, as the heat will make the bone brittle. Then, soak it in bleach and water for several hours to kill off the bacteria. Rinse and dry.
What are the steps in bone preparation? ›
The various stages of preparation of bones include procurement of cadavers, maceration, degreasing, bleaching, drying, and finishing.
How do you clean bones before making stock? ›
You bring the water to a boil, then blanch the bones and meat for 10 to 15 seconds before fishing them out and sometimes rinsing them. With both methods, the blanched bones and the aromatics are added to fresh, cold water and then simmered to make the final stock.
How clean do bones need to be for stock? ›
You don't need to clean the bones or strip them of meat, but if you want a cleaner, clearer broth you should blanch the bones first. Put them in your stock pot, covered with cold water. Bring just to a boil & shut it off, drain all the water. Clean the pot or get another one.
How do you clean bones for stock? ›
Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of salt to the stockpot. Bring the stockpot to a rolling boil. Boil the bones vigorously for ten minutes. Dump the bones into a clean sink or large colander.
Will bleach clean animal bones? ›
Don't use liquid bleach, it is harsher to the bone and does not have the enzyme action that is needed to break down residual tissue.
