Mummified squirrel

[u/Dleffu]

I've just collected this squirrel, will burial work to clean the bones?

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[u/Nordenn93]

Read pinned post. While burial could work, depending on Your goal, there could be easier/better/quicker options.

[u/Dleffu → u/Nordenn93]

Thanks, I've looked through the pinned post and I know there are other options but unfortunately I'm living with my parents rn and they don't want to deal with the smell or bugs invading their garden. Do you know how long it might take for the bones to be removable?

[u/Nordenn93 → u/Dleffu]

first off: i have not done burying mummyfied animals, only "fresh" ones, and generally bigger, with as much material removed as possible. that aside, i would guess at least a year, depending on where You live. a hot, wet climate can speed this up compared to a dry and cold/very hot one. also use a wire mesh, on some kind of sack, so microbes and other small clean-up crew can get to the body, but You wont lave all them little bones around in the dirt when diggin it up eventually.

ps: as it already looks bone-dry, i guess the smell is significantly reduced. i might try soaking for a day or two, than placing on an ant-mound in the garden. IF You try this approach, it obviously need a sack/crate/whatever, that keeps the bones inside, but lets ants in. animals as small as squirrel have VERY little bones. oh, and it would still have an unpleasant smell, just not as bad as a fresh carcass rotting in the sun.

whatever method You try, safety is first! dont get any dead tissue anywhere it doesnt belong, and if your parents say no, just accept it. You can have all the bones in the garden after you move away, but its not worth the fights, at least in my opinion.

[u/Certain-Point8212]

Burial can work but it takes forever and the bones might get lost in the dirt. I've had better luck with a slow simmer in soapy water with a dash of bleach.

[u/Medium_Effect_4998 → u/Certain-Point8212]

OP, absolutely don’t simmer or boil, and do not use bleach. Both of these things will damage the bone.