maintenance of wet specimens:

Just like all taxidermy pieces, wet specimens also need maintenance.
With the following tips and steps, I will teach you how you can keep your specimens safe and looking fresh.

First you need to know how I make my specimens so you can understand the process. 
The wet specimens I sell all are injected with formalin in every square cm of the body. After this process I let the animals fixate in a formalin bath for weeks to months depending on the size. 

!I can't stress enough how toxic and dangerous formalin can be. Please don't experiment with formalin without proper chemical knowledge and the right protective gear!

Ater this process, all my specimens get washed and rinced though 5 baths of demineralised water, to ensure that they contain as little formalin as possible.  
Then the specimens go in to a so called alcohol ladder. In wich they climb up from 25% up to 95% ethanol in small steps.  95% bio-ethanol is the final storage liquid in which my wet specimens are sold.

Now you know how much time work and care goes into a well-preserved specimen, you will understand that a good specimen can't be cheap.

In addition, wet specimens also are natural products. Every animal is different and therefore needs a slightly different treatment. And also has a different end result.

Now you know that my specimens are sold in 95% bio-ethanol. Ideally, if you wish to replace or replenish the liquid with fresh ethanol, you should do so with 95% bio-ethanol as well. 

FOGGY LIQUID.
You may notice that after topping off with a lower alcohol percentage or a different type of alcohol the remaining alcohol in the container turns foggy. There is no need to be alarmed by this. The mist is fat that used to be desolved in the original liquid. The fog will slowly desolve again.

YELLOWISH/BROWNISH COLOUR.
Has the liquid containing your specimens become a yellowish/brownish colour over time? This is quite normal. The haemoglobin in the animal's blood or bile pigments are usually the cause of this discolouration. In one animal this occur faster than in another. To get the liquid nice and clear again, you can replace the entire liquid with fresh ethanol. The more often the liquid is replaced, the longer it takes for this discolouration to occur again.  This is why all my specimens get at least 5 ethanol changes before they get sold. 

DECLINING LIQUID LEVEL
Bio-ethanol is very volatile. Which makes it evaporate quickly. No matter how well a glass container is sealed, ethanol will always find a way to escape after some time.
For this reason (and because I want to have the possibillity to replace the liquid when it discolours) I never permanently seal a glass myself.

AIR BUBBLE IN GLASS GLOBE
One of the most popular items I sell are glass globes with wet specimens. These not only form a challenge to the eye but may also be a challenge to open and close to perform a liquid change or top off an air bubble. But once you know how to do it, you soon get the hang of it.
Glass globes offer a additional challenge because they depend on back pressure from the atmosphere in their waterproofing. Changes in atmospheric pressure can cause the pressure in the globe to drop, causing it to evaporate faster or even leak. 
I made a tutorial video  in which I show you how you can easily replenish or change the liquid yourself and re-pressurise the globe. You can find the video here on instagram 
https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTUyNDY1NDY3ODg2OTc3?story_media_id=3525155321037746046_29421250508&igsh=MTJsMThlZHhzNTVp 
Or you can send me an e-mail , so I can send you the video.

WARNING!
* bio-ethanol is highly flamable. Keep specimens away from heat sources and flames. 
* The glass is usually very thin which makes it fragile 
* The fixation liquid formalin is toxic 
* the preservation liquid bio-ethanol is not suitable for consumption