# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Hunting & Trapping >  Best way to skin(and cure) a snake?

## Badawg

Hey guys,

One of my coworkers shot and killed a very nice sized timber rattler this morning and I grabbed the carcass to skin.

Any advice on the best method for skinning it and curing the skin?

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## Swamprat1958

Badawg

I can tell how not to cure one.  I used salt on one and totally ruined it.

Maybe someone else know the right way.

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## Rick

Check with CowboySurvival. He just did one using salt. 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ght=skin+snake

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## welderguy

If your not looking for traditional, tandy leather sells a bottle of snake tan.http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/s.../22046-00.aspx

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## Rick

Yeah but that's for snakes that plan on hitting the beach and want to look good. Snake tan in a bottle is better than a tanning bed but not by much.

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## welderguy

> Yeah but that's for snakes that plan on hitting the beach and want to look good. Snake tan in a bottle is better than a tanning bed but not by much.


 I was wondering why it came with a beachtowel and sunglasses

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## Badawg

Well I side slit and salted it. Sucker was 41" long and about 6" wide in the middle. I sandwiched it to hold it flat. Also, 10 rattles.

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## Rick

Yeah, we have some baby snakes that small around here, too.

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

Hope you ate! They are the bomb on the grill! What other meat turns itself?

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## your_comforting_company

typically a solution of alcohol and glycerine is used. After the salt cure to remove the "ground substance" from the skin, it is sprayed with the solution several times and allowed to become almost dry. Followed with some slight hand stretching if you want it soft and supple, or if it needs to be a bit stiffer just let it ride.
I have not tanned snakes, only read about it so I cannot attest to how well it works. I am under the impression that brains would work. Sorry I can't be more help than that. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

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## whitecrow

I killed a 5' Western rattler on Easter Sunday.  I stunned him with a piece of wood, then put my foot on his head and cut it off (the head, not my foot) with the blade of my Leatherman tool.  Eleven rattles.  I scraped the skin with a knife though very little of that was needed.  The skin comes off easily.  I pinned it flat (NOT stretched) to a board and painted it with a 50/50 solution of rubbing alcohol and glycerin about twice a day, letting it dry in the sun.  After a couple days I turned it over and used the same procedure on the outside of the skin.  It came out very soft and supple.  Right now I have it rolled up in the freezer while I try to decide what to do with it.  Guitar strap?  Belt?  It's almost but not quite big enough for both a belt and a hatband.  The rattle will decorate one of my hiking sticks.

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## your_comforting_company

Excellent! Can't wait to see the finished pieces!!
Did you take any pictures of the process?

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

Am I the only one that eats'em...?

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## rwc1969

I wonder if a snake has enough brains to tan it's own hide?

CS, probably! LOL!

I'd eat one if it came my way.

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## RCKCRWLER

> Am I the only one that eats'em...?


I have to ask...  I was told by an elderly desert dweller to watch it when eating wild rattlers.  He said if they are bit by another, then you run the risk of ingesting the poison when you cook it.  Wouldn't the rattler already be dead if bitten by another?  Just asking, it's always puzzled me.  Just trying not to end up in the Darwin recipient list of 2011.

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## shiftyer1

I've also been told to watch if it's bitten itself.  I don't think it would die from a poison it makes internally but I could be wrong.

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## Cousin-IT

well i'd assume if the hide is good enough to use then there'd be no puncture marks and no puncture marks means no biting or poison, me i'd see if the hide (skin or whatever) can hold water first  :Big Grin:

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## ottawafm

Use clean antifreeze. Place it in a jar and top up with antifreeze for about a week. Then spread out and nail to a board.

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## Batch

> I've also been told to watch if it's bitten itself.  I don't think it would die from a poison it makes internally but I could be wrong.


As long as your digestive system is not damaged already. Snake venom is harmless when swallowed. So, eating a snake that has been bitten by another snake is not a worry.

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## wilderness medic

> As long as your digestive system is not damaged already. Snake venom is harmless when swallowed. So, eating a snake that has been bitten by another snake is not a worry.


This.^ 

There are a lot of stupid rumors and wives tales about snakes. The venom is fine as long as it isn't absorbed into your bloodstream.

If you want them to be nice and last I recommend getting a "reptile tan" kit from somewhere like vandykestaxidermy.

Glycerine makes it soft, much like antifreeze, but does not tan it. I use glycerine AFTER it has been tanned.

Here are some various ones I tanned.

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## ravenscar

Was that.. a 3 year necro?
  Anyways my family would absolutely blow a gasket if I brought home a snake, living or dead (I used to play with copperheads so both happened to be an occurrence).
But now I see a lead on tanning the hides, and with an interest in it now I may go on a hunt for some eventually.
though in service on this thread http://www.alabamaherps.com/snake%20bite.htm

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## hayshaker

WM is that one over the window a python? oh BTW since you wee in hawaii didyou ever eat
morrey eel. i have had it grilled over kiawe wood oh my what a treat.

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## wilderness medic

> WM is that one over the window a python? oh BTW since you wee in hawaii didyou ever eat
> morrey eel. i have had it grilled over kiawe wood oh my what a treat.


Red tail boa. 

Not that I know of. Heard it tastes like garbage...but I do like eel. Not sure what kind i've had but none while in Hawaii.

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## hayshaker

sun dried Tako or octopus grillede is really good as well.

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## Zack

> Hope you ate! They are the bomb on the grill! What other meat turns itself?


I've never had rattlesnake, but I know a small restaurant in Philadelphia, PA that makes the finest (and only) alligator gumbo that I've ever had!

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## Enigma

You have some nice skins there WM. Ordinary bark tannins seem to work for me, if you don't mind them getting a light brown tone. I also like using pieces of snake skins on my self bows, for decoration.

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## crashdive123

I don't tan my snake skins since all I use them for are sheath inlays.  I tack them to a board and cover them with borax.

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## shiftyer1

> As long as your digestive system is not damaged already. Snake venom is harmless when swallowed. So, eating a snake that has been bitten by another snake is not a worry.


Thank you for this!  My son killed a rattlesnake day before yesterday and has his mind set to eat it,  I was a little worried about the venom if maybe he made a mistake dressing it.

If he likes it I guess he'll have and endless buffet out here,  it's been a snakey spring!

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## Enigma

> I don't tan my snake skins since all I use them for are sheath inlays.  I tack them to a board and cover them with borax.


That's interesting, dos the Borax cure, tan, stabilise ? How does it work to stop the skin degrading?

I use Aluminium Sulphate a lot, but I'm switching to vegetaqble tannins from now on, cause I'm sick of my primitive gear being left out in the rain during courses etc, then slowly falling apart. Allum is fine for indoor stuff. I'm also going to smoke my stuff too, to help with the waterproofing. I just put a kangaroo tail, and 3 goat skins in a barrel of Acacia Tan, just 10 mins ago. I've made a weak solution for now, cause I don't want the skins to case harden, and be ruined.

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Acacia bark, Kanga Tail and goat skin

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Pouring hot water over the bark to soften it up quicker.

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## crashdive123

I don't know the "science" behind using borax.  My experience using it has been limited to snake skins and gator hides.  You do not end up with a soft, supple skin as you would from tanning.  The snake skins hold up very well (remember - I'm gluing them to a leather backing) as do the gator hides.  When I use the gator I have to soak it in water for several hours so that I can flatten it for my uses.  Have never had a problem with the process.

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