[Nhcoll-l] Sea Turtle Carapace Preservation

[George Dante]

Hi Caleb,

These can be tricky. Removing as much tissue and residual skeletal material
as possible is key. After this, we have found that tanning them as you
would a very greasy reptile skin, helps to reduce the shrinkage and areas
of loss. I would do this in house if you are familiar with the process and
would only outsource this to someone who has done it before. I hope this
helps!

Sincerely,
George




George A. Dante, Jr., BA, FLS, FINHA

George Dante Studios LLC

192 Lackawanna Ave. Unit 104

Woodland Park, NJ 07424

P: 973 890 1516

E: george at georgedantestudios.com




The Institute for Natural History Arts, Inc

President & Founder

192 Lackawanna Ave. Unit 104

Woodland Park, NJ 07424

P: 973 890 1516

E: gdante.inha at gmail.com

www.naturalhistoryarts.org





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On Wed, Oct 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM Caleb Eubanks <calebfeubanks at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hey all,
>
> I am looking to help a colleague figure out how best to preserve a green
> sea turtle carapace. (Chelonia mydas) I'm familiar with skeletal
> preparation and taxidermy, but I'm less familiar with the preservation of
> turtle shells. Most of the ones I've seen in collections appear to have a
> shiny varnish on them, I was wondering if a non-glossy alternative was
> known? (Preferably something more archival quality, I was thinking paraloid)
>
> Also, best way to clean the inside? I often use brass brushes or a wire
> wheel flesher to remove muscle/fat from bones/skins, so I figured that
> could work, but I was wondering if folks had better ideas.
>
> Any tips and/or literature is appreciated!
>
> ------
> Caleb Eubanks
> (He/Him)
>
> Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/thatcalebbird.bsky.social>
> iNaturalist <https://www.inaturalist.org/people/featherbirb>
> LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-eubanks/>
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