Low Maintenance Euro?

[Laelkhunter]

I think that's what I'm going to try. Red ants are plentiful here!

Does it matter if I remove the eyes, etc. prior or just let the ants do the work?

I would remove the eyes and as much tissue (meat) as possible. It will decrease the amount of time it takes for the ants to do their work.

 

[butcherboy]

The quick way is to simmer it. Do not boil! Add some baking soda to the water or ammonia and it will speed the process up. Longer version is to either macerate or leave it out under a tub for the bugs to take care of. I macerated hundreds of skulls when I was a taxidermist. It smells bad but it doesn’t take long. A bucket with an aquarium heater works well and if you cover it with a tarp it helps hold more heat in. Once it’s done you can rinse it off then degrease with the same heater and bucket. Use dawn dish soap and industrial ammonia in the water. Change water after a few days and let it go again. Repeat until there is no more grease floating on top of the water. A proper degreasing can take a while. You can also soak the skull
In acetone for a while to degrease. Javelina, bear, etc are pretty greasy skulls. When degreasing, I just used a camp chef stove and a galvanized bucket. Put it on low and let it go adding water and changing water as needed. Just keep the water temp below 115 degrees Fahrenheit. 105-110 is ideal for degreasing. Go look at taxidermynet as there is a whole forum dedicated to Euro’s.