Wet Specimen Preservation {Liquid Preservation}

So you're interested in preserving a cool critter or a dead pet, but you can't seem to find the right information. I am not a professional in this subject field, but from what I've researched and learned this is what I do know, take this information and experiment with different ways to preserve. The process that I have decided to share with you is just the basics, everyone has their own way of doing it and some have done this for many years and have figured out what works best for them. 

Facts and History - ( info listed below can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/Fluid-Preservation-Comprehensive-John-Simmons/dp/1442229659/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420749967&sr=1-3&keywords=wet+preservation )

Fluid preservation refers to specimens and objects that are preserved in fluids, most commonly alcohol and formaldehyde, but also glycerin, mineral oil, acids, glycols, and a host of other chemicals that protect the specimen from deterioration. Some of the oldest natural history specimens in the world are preserved in fluid. 

Despite the fact that fluid preservation has been practiced for more than 350 years, this is the only handbook that summarize all that is known about this complex and often confusing topic. Fluid Preservation: A Comprehensive Reference covers the history and techniques of fluid preservation and how to care for fluid preserved specimens in collections. 

Although most fluid-preserved specimens are found in natural history and medical museums, it is not at all uncommon to find them in art museums, history museums, and science centers or even in the homes of collectors. In addition to animals, plants, and anatomical specimens, fluid preserved collections include some minerals and fossils and many other objects. 

A book called(referenced in the last paragraph) called, Fluid Preservation is an essential reference for: 

• Natural history curators
• Natural history collections managers
• Conservators
• Medical and anatomical museum collections managers and curators
• Art and history museum staff who have fluid preserved specimens and objects in their care (e.g., works by Damien Hirst)
• Private collectors
• Researchers using museum collections as sources of DNA, isotopes, etc.
• Health and safety professionals
• Exhibit planners and designers
• Museum facilities planners and managers
• People interested in the history of science
• People interested in the history of natural history museums
• Museum studies students

Getting Started:

Step 1: DO YOUR RESEARCH! This blog will supply you with a lot of information but not everything, find out which process works best for you! Quick tip: Rubbing Alcohol is a natural solution, but simply placing a dead animal in this will not preserve it properly. You have to fix the tissues with formalin prior to this and go through a long process. Alcohol will not preserve the organs and the insides of your specimen will begin to rot over time.

Step 2: Get all of the right chemicals and take the proper precautions prior to preservation.

WARNING: The chemicals that I recommend for this process contain carcinogens, which are also known to cause cancer. Read the MSDS on any chemical you buy prior to purchase!

Step 3: Pick your animal, make sure it has been frozen almost immediately after death or within the first few days, you can't preserve rotten animals. Also, make sure you have a jar big enough for your critter! ATTENTION: Before picking up road kill or picking up any animal that isn't domestic, be sure to read your state's (and government) laws and regulations prior to picking it up. Many animals are protected and endangered, picking up or preserving a protected animal or bird, is in many cases illegal!! You can be charged and fined for having it in your possession. Depending on where you are if you find a dead cat or dog that isn't fetal, it is also illegal to obtain. Fetal animals are considered organs therefore are legal to have (read more on this below). Also, never pick up or touch a dead animal with your bare hands/without gloves! You don't know what diseases it may have, if you suspect it of a disease I would avoid it.

Below is a great resource with state by state laws:

www.thegreenwolf.com/animal-parts-laws

Make sure to read up on wildlife laws, and make sure you read about the Migratory Bird Act (which makes illegal the possession or sale of birds except European starlings, English house sparrows, and captive-bred or legally taken game birds and pet birds), CITES (an international treaty dealing with protected species), and the Dog and Cat Protection Act (which makes illegal the purchase or sale of any cat or dog specimen with the exception of bones or internal organs, unless mounted by a taxidermist for the original owner). Roadkill laws vary from state to state. 

Precautions and Material List:

1. READ THE MSDS!!!!!!
2. Your area of choice for this process should have A LOT of ventilation and air flow in the room! Breathing in this chemical can cause dizziness and you could potentially faint!
3. Buy a MSA rated respirator mask with cartridges that ventilate out toxic dust and chemicals
4. Bins for your chemical baths, don't use these for anything but a specific chemical, label as poisonous and write warning if you think anyone may get into them.
5. Syringes, you will use this to inject the chemical into your animal.
6. Heavy duty and disposable gloves. You will use the heavy duty rubber gloves(no fabric!) during any formalin process, use the disposable gloves when touching any dead animal!
7. A freezer, you should keep all of your animals frozen when they aren't going through the preservation process! Rotten animals won't preserve properly
8. Plastic bags, to store your animals in, if you put several animals in one bag they could potentially freeze together!
9. A designated work bench/table
10. Jars to store your specimens in after preservation
11. The right amount of each chemical for the process, see below in the next segment.

The chemical's I use and my preferred process:

Please note that everyone has a different process! First read the precautions and material list and gather the correct materials before you attempt preservation.

10% Buffered Formalin: 
This chemical is 96% water and 4% Formaldehyde. YOU MUST READ THE ATTACHED MSDS BEFORE YOU PURCHASE! Click on the link below to read the MSDS. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen, meaning it is known to cause cancer, 10% buffered formalin is a lot safer than most preservatives, just make sure you read into it(See MSDS) prior to purchasing it.

Shttp://www.sigmaaldrich.com/MSDS/MSDS/DisplayMSDSPage.do?country=US&language=en&productNumber=HT501128&brand=SIGMA&PageToGoToURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sigmaaldrich.com%2Fcatalog%2Fproduct%2Fsigma%2Fht501128%3Flang%3Den

There is no need to mix your own solution to make Formalin, it's too hard, too smelly and the amount of money you save by mixing your own solution is quite small, unless your making many gallons. You won't need a lot of Formalin, as a little does go a long way. Injecting takes a little formalin, I recommend not using old formalin when injecting, and you should have a “bath for soaking” that can be reused many many times. ALWAYS rinse in distilled water, small animals really only need a rinse, larger ones a few hours soak. There is no need for them to sit in water for a few days unless you have a very rare or expensive specimen. Technically you should have a few different alcohol solution baths from 40%-70% in 10% increments. Each with a separate soak of a few days. Again, not really necessary unless you have a special piece. If you are doing something very fleshy, like a fetal animal or let's say a hairless cat, a stepped soak in a 40/50% alf solution is good before plopping it in a 70% isopropyl solution(70% isopropyl is what you can store your specimen in after the process, some store in formalin but that can be spendy as you should replace it's holding solution every 3-6 months). This helps from shrinkage and dehydration. There is a great product you can use if you get an old dehydrated specimen that will in some cases bring it back to original. Jacob Cain, owner of Death Isn't The End(recommended seller), uses a chemical in his respiration work, its called Decon 90. If used, you must go through the whole preservation process again, most of the time. Another great resource, is a new published book on the history and how too’s for wet preservation. It's really spendy but its been a good book for to use if you're serious about taking up this hobby. The name of this book is - Fluid Preservation: A Comprehensive Reference by: John E. Simmons. This book is priced at $90.25 new. The book focuses on recipes new and old and also in restorative work. 


also see these helpful links for wet specimens: 
http://www.taxidermy.net/forums/IndustryArticles/02/k/02985396A5.html
http://conservation.myspecies.info/node/33
http://www.ou.edu/research/electron/bmz5364/prepare.htm