earn extra cash while haveing fun

[hayshaker]

since a good deal of our fourm family live in florida this is a unique opoportunity
to earn some cash while having an exciting time doing it.
here's the deal. pythons have been decleared an invasive spieces in florida.
therfore it is LEGAL to take these snakes. i want python skins and will pay for them.
there not hard to catch i'm sure i'd do it but live too far away. so gimme a holler if yer intrested.
                                                                                                                          shakey

[madmax]

They recently bagged a 17 footer.  That probably wasn't "easy".  LOL.  I knew a herpetologist that would just drive and look for them crossing the road.  I don't know what technique they use now. 

[hayshaker]

heck there'ya go just run'em over and throw em in the trunk.
gosh how hard is that. that's easyer than using some neer do well inlaw for bait.

[madmax]

If you stick to paved road, the most dangerous part would be dodging the drunks on Alligator Alley at night while trying to scoop them up.

[hayshaker]

btw i did not post this thread as a joke i' serious i do want to get some hides,
just so ya know.

[wsdstan]

The labor for skinning and tanning is expensive.  You mail one untanned to Minnesota you will stink the whole place up.   

[Unknown]

I've never tanned a snake skin- just rawhide it.

Salt one good to suck moisture out after cleaning any meat off. Dry, staked out on a board for x days. Use some tape to pull the flakey part of the scales. gtg.

[madmax]

I used boric acid powder (roach poison) on a snake skin.  Still good years later. 

[wsdstan]

I used a glycerin and rubbing alcohol to process rattlesnake skins years ago.  They came out good but the whole process of skinning them was unpleasant.   This is a fairly quick process compared to animals but it tends to stink.

Here is how it goes:

Skin the snake and make sure that all the meat and fat are removed from the flesh side of the skin.
Mix a solution of equal parts glycerin and rubbing alcohol in a container you can seal closed. Fully submerge the skin in it by rolling the skin up kind of loosely.

Let the snakeskin sit for 2-3 days stirring once a day. Make sure that the skin is fully submerged.
Remove the skin from the container and rinse with water.
Use a dull knife and scrape the flesh side to remove any loose membrane. This will give the flesh side a nice clean look when you are finished.
Spread a light coat of the pure glycerin on the flesh side.  Let it hang dry for a day or so
Use a damp cloth to wipe any excess residue off the skin. 

[hayshaker]

well thankgoodness it's not as bad as skinning a bear talk about a greassy mess.

[crashdive123]

Boric acid has always worked will for me on snake skins.

@Hayshaker - the skins from the big ones brings a pretty nice price. 

[hayshaker]

crash is that while there still green or finished?
i've found there is a real big difference in price
between the two?

[PetrifiedWood]

I bought a big snake skin from Tandy a while back. I'm not sure how they tanned it but the skin side felt just like a thin piece of chrome tanned leather and the scale side was intact. I still haven't gotten around to using it on anything but I had plans to use it as an inset panel on some sheaths. I also got a ray skin from them I was planning to use on a knife handle. I was going to make a short Japanese style blade (the profile, at least) and try to make the handle using traditional materials. It will have to be another "one day" project.

[crashdive123]

crash is that while there still green or finished?
i've found there is a real big difference in price
between the two?

I have never bought what you call a green skin, but I imagine if somebody has to pack it in dry ice and ship it to you it will still cost quite a bit.