page_title: Taxidermy
section_title: Freeze-dried mount
hierarchical_section_title: Taxidermy / Methods / Freeze-dried mount
caption_attribution_description: English: Example of insect damage to a freeze-dried taxidermy mount of a rattlesnake
context_page_description: Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word taxidermy describes the process of preserving the animal, but the word is also used to describe the end product, which are called taxidermy mounts or referred to simply as "taxidermy".
  The word taxidermy is derived from the Greek words taxis and derma. Taxis means "arrangement", and derma means "skin". The word taxidermy translates to "arrangement of skin".
  Taxidermy is practiced primarily on vertebrates but can also be done to larger insects and arachnids under some circumstances. Taxidermy takes on a number of forms and purposes including hunting trophies and natural history museum displays. Museums use taxidermy as a method to record species, including those that are extinct and threatened, in the form of study skins and life-size mounts. Taxidermy is sometimes also used as a means to memorialize pets.
  A person who practices taxidermy is called a taxidermist. They may practice professionally, catering to museums and sportsman, or as amateurs.
context_section_description: An increasingly popular trend is to freeze dry the animal.  For all intents and purposes, a freeze-dried mount is a mummified animal. The internal organs are removed during preparation; however, all other tissue remains in the body. (The skeleton and all accompanying musculature is still beneath the surface of the skin) The animal is positioned into the desired pose, then placed into the chamber of a special freeze drying machine designed specifically for this application. The machine freezes the animal and also creates a vacuum in the chamber. Pressure in the chamber helps vaporize moisture in the animal's body, allowing it to dry out. The rate of drying depends on vapor pressure. (The higher the pressure, the faster the specimen dries.) Vapor pressure is determined by temperature of the chamber; the higher the temperature, the higher the vapor pressure is at a given vacuum. The length of the dry-time is important because rapid freezing creates less tissue distortion (i.e.; shrinkage, warping, and wrinkling) The process can be done with reptiles, birds, and small mammals such as cats, rodents, and some dogs. Large specimens may require up to six months in the freeze dryer before they are completely dry. Freeze drying is the most popular type of pet preservation. This is because it is the least invasive in terms of what is done to the animal's body after death, which is a concern of owners (Most owners do not opt for a traditional skin mount).
  In the case of large pets, such as dogs and cats, freeze drying is also the best way to capture the animal's expression as it looked in life (another important concern of owners). Freeze drying equipment is costly and requires much upkeep. The process is also time-consuming; therefore, freeze drying is generally an expensive method to preserve an animal. The drawback to this method is that freeze-dried mounts are extremely susceptible to insect damage. This is because they contain large areas of dried tissue (meat and fat) for insects to feed upon. Traditional mounts are far less susceptible because they contain virtually no residual tissues (or none at all). Regardless of how well a taxidermy mount is prepared, all taxidermy is susceptible to insect damage. Taxidermy mounts are targeted by the same beetles and fabric moths that destroy wool sweaters and fur coats and that infest grains and flour in pantries.
caption: Example of dermestid beetle damage to a freeze-dried taxidermy mount of a rattlesnake
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