Skins & Scales Taxidermy

07/12/2024

A bongo antelope which belongs to the spiral horned species. This animal comes from the darkest deepest densest jungle in central africa. It is also home of the pygmy tribe, which are employed as the trackers and the skinners for the hunters who pursue this animal. These antelope weigh between 500-600 lb and a typical hunt for a bongo is about $50,000 and is normally for 14 to 18 days.

06/16/2024

This is becoming all too common in our industry. 95% of the problems plaguing our industry and the vast majority of other businesses in this country is coming straight out of Washington DC. The current administration has certainly sped up the downward spiral of the work ethic and work industry in our country. Anybody with half a brain realizes this cannot continue to go on and not expect catastrophic results. In years past we would get skins back from the Tanner in 6 to 8 months. Now we rarely get them back in less than a year because they are all struggling with a lack of employees. Meanwhile our government continues to print and spend money like there is no tomorrow, resulting in everything costing more. Everyone around the country that has a legitimate Taxidermy business, (and I don't mean some guy working out of his garage on weekends) is struggling to stay within a normal turnaround time getting work finished. Getting supplies from time to time is still an issue. Items that we used to order from our suppliers that would take three or four days are now taking 4 to 6 weeks, for the same reasons, a lack of employees. Washington could care less about the plight of American businesses.
Nothing they do in Washington affects them it all falls on us. Washington is fat dumb and happy and could care less. The government that we have now is what the founding fathers warned us about. There's really no difference between either political party. Trump says all of the right stuff but I don't know that one man can turn this country around there are just as many Republicans who are afraid of him as there are Democrats. In my opinion the only thing that is going to change this is when 10 million "real" Americans go to Washington with pitchforks and shovels.

05/31/2024

Coffee, tea or me.

04/28/2024

Just an example of what's going on at the shop everyday. I know it looks like a bomb went off in there but we do have a system. Thanks to all the dedicated talented team, Derek, Nicole #1, Nicole #2, Alexis #1, Alexis #2, Jason, Gib, Jorgan and Tommy who keep everything flowing everyday

03/27/2024

03/16/2024

This is an alligator diorama end table. We had to take the glass out to take the photos, because it caused a glare

03/05/2024

From time to time we have people bring in old beat up damaged fish and want us to repair them back to the original condition.

01/22/2024

The crocodile coffee table. The top photo is at the shop before it was crated to ship to South America. The bottom photo is set up in the customer's house in South America

01/18/2024

We are in the process of finishing up some turkeys. The shop took in almost 70 birds from this past gobbler season. We use the real heads on our mounts, the head has to be taken off the bird and they have to be sent to a freeze dry facility because the head is pretty much blood filled and if they're not freeze-dried they shrivel up, shrink and look terrible. Once we have the heads back they have to be put back on the turkey. These two pictures show what they look like when we get the heads back from the freeze dry company and then after all the color has been put back into them.

12/18/2023

We have a client that lives in South America that we received several items that he hunted when he was in Africa. One of them was this Nile crocodile (almost 12 ft. Long) and he wanted a coffee table made with a glass top. And there was certain size restrictions we had to work within.

12/06/2023

We did this for a customer several years ago. The head is supported by metal rod in the trunk connected to the base

12/02/2023

It sure is "dead" and quiet in the shop on the weekends when the team is not working

11/29/2023

The last thing a raccoon at the pond sees

11/16/2023

The whole crew at the shop 😁

10/28/2023

The "Lionfish", one of the most frustrating aggravating time consuming fish there is to paint. You can see the before and after. Being a skin Mount just added to the difficulty.

10/24/2023

Someone sent me this today. Orvis Wildlife is in the Taxidermy business just like we are. In a way this is comforting to know it's just not us that is struggling with all of this. I've talked with other shops across the country and it is pretty much the same thing everywhere. But in more ways it's very sad. And it's not just my business and Orvis Wildlife. We have had to stop taking certain kinds of work in to try and catch up from our backlog. We thought when this covid mess settled down things might get back to normal. Apparently that's not going to happen. I know covid is real, I've lost several personal friends to this disease. But it's also very obvious we have been played and the powers that be have used it as a political tool. 95% of the problems this country faces right now is coming out of Washington. The mainstream media will not report on the truth because most of the mainstream media and the politicians are one and the same. A lot of the supplies we buy have doubled in price in the last year and a half. Some of the supplies we need take weeks or months for us to receive them. Everyone knows this is unsustainable and cannot continue the way it is going. To all of our customers out there, we promise you you will get your trophies just not in the time frame we originally stated. Please be patient and bear with us as we fight through these unprecedented times, thanks.

10/23/2023

Everyone who had a part in this production. Starting at the left, Gibb who mounted the alligator, Alexis and Gabby who did the finish work and Derek mounted the little pig. I guess this is the definition of teamwork

09/30/2023

Three alligator shoulder mounts with habitat that we just finished

09/22/2023

Heather with a couple iguana she just finished. We are always amazed at what people want to hang on their walls. But that is what pays our bills.

09/18/2023

We've heard of children of the corn. I guess these are the birds of the corn. Two male ringneck pheasants and one female and a Ross's goose a snow goose and two blue geese. And of course Derek and Alexis who did the majority of the work on these two projects.

09/17/2023

A skin mount peacock bass we just finished, and the reference photo for colors

09/13/2023

Part of the belly the back feet in the tail go up against the wall once it's in the customer's house

08/24/2023

We've been finishing a batch turkeys this week. Here's a nice little setup with a nice big Tom Osceola turkey. There are several different subspecies of turkeys around the country and down into Mexico. The ones from Orlando south are called "osceola's." The good news is I did not have to lay a hand on this bird during the whole process. Thanks to Derek, Don and Alexis. They never let me down

08/05/2023

The work that goes into doing a cape buffalo. The African Cape buffalo is one of the so-called Big 5 of African game. Which includes elephant, rhino, lion, and leopard. All of these five animals are considered dangerous game, because every year there are hunters killed by these animals

08/03/2023

Alexis, Derek and Heather who did the majority of work on this cape buffalo, greater kudu and sable pedestal mounts, all three animals are from Africa