Wet specimen question! Regarding preservation with alcohol (without fixing with formalin/formaldehyde)

[KazsCurios]

So we recently found a freshly dead, perfectly intact bullsnake on the side of the highway, and I am wanting to preserve him in a jar, but cannot seem to obtain any formaldehyde or formalin here without ordering it online. So I read that preserving in just isopropyl alcohol can work, if you inject it throughout the body as well. So I did, and he is sitting in a jar looking so perfect most of my friends thought he was still alive. But it's only been a couple days, and after doing some more research I've found some conflicting articles saying that even introducing alcohol into the body cavity before submerging in alcohol is not sufficient for preserving, that the specimen will continue to rot internally over time. Him being such a perfect and awesome looking specimen, I really really do not want to risk this happening, but is there anything else I can do now? If I leave him as is in the alcohol will he stay preserved and looking "alive", or over time will he rot or change in any way? And if so, is it too late for me to rinse him and freeze him, to be stored until the formaldehyde arrives so I can "fix" him before returning him to the jar of alcohol? And will the alcohol already injected into him interfere with freezing or trying to inject him with formaldehyde? Any help or advice would be hugely appreciated as there is not anyone in town that does this kind of thing that can answer my questions, and I know time is of the essence when preserving something dead. Thank you!

[Former_Member]

Hey, I'm seeing that you don't have any replies on here, but I'm also trying to figure out if this is true. If it worked for you, I'd love to know so that I don't have to go through the trouble of messing with formalin.
Thank you for your time.
Ember xx

[Former_Member]

Ah, you both are adventurous and this is a weird topic.

I have only preserved flesh in alcohol. Tho' when I was ready to prep into jewelry I aloud the specimen to rest at room temp and dry slightly before waxing for the kiln.

Lost wax method of preserving the actual specimen form by making a mold of the cast specimen aka either snake, spider, beetle, etc.

Nothing last forever, not even a specimen resting in alcohol at some point you may need to rotate out with fresh alcohol as the specimen cures.

[Former_Member]

The skin and bones are very easy to preserve if you are using denatured alcohol. It is the soft tissues that will cause you trouble without using formaldehyde. Stomach and bowel contents will rot almost immediately, even formaldehyde preservation usually involves flushing these parts out. The muscle tissue can take a very long time to preserve, so mickey's recommendation to change the alcohol is definitely a must, but anything that is not muscle tissue, bone or skin, will go rancid and decay.

The best way to preserve him permanently is to remove everything but the skull and chemically preserve the skin and head in order to put it all back over a form (wire and string, clay or foam) of the removed body. With the addition of glass eyes, it can look alive again. However you must be up to the task of properly skinning, and cleaning which is quite a bit of work even on a snake.

The next best thing for it to look alive is freeze drying but this still requires removal and replacement of the eyes and abdominal organs. The nice thing about these two options is your specimen can be posed and enjoyed freely without a jar or container.

It is always best to freeze anything during the 'waiting period' so you don't loose your specimen with experimentation.

The alcohol will go to work right away on the skin, even isopropyl will neutralize the bacteria and at least slow decomposition, so you should be pretty safe if you decide to freeze it now until you can get the proper chemicals. Leaving the soft tissues without plastification or proper chemical injection will allow them to eventually rot.

I wish you the best of luck with your project :)