Rattlesnake Skins How To

I have been asked to tell how I prep rattlesnake skins.
1. Remove and dispose of the head.
2. Cut off the rattle at the first segment and dry. I don't use the rattle attached to the skin so I cut it off.
3. if you do not plan on using the skin from the anus to the rattle, cut the tail off just ahead of the anus. here in AZ we have the coontail sections that if large enough can make interesting items.
4. Using scissors, cut the neck cleanly so the skin won't be ragged.
5. Turn the snake on its back and cut straight down the center of the belly scales from one end to the other.
6. Using your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the body at the neck, then pull the entire skin away. Rattlesnakes are fatty so the skin comes off as easy as peeling off a sock.
7. If you're not eating the tiny amount of meat found along the back bone, place the body in a sealed juice bottle filled with water. leave it to sit in the sun with the cap loose enough to allow gas to escape. Place it somewhere the smell won't offend anyone and critters can get to it.
8. Place the skin, flesh side up on a board, and run a garden hose over it just enough to lay the skin out.
9. While running the water over it, use a brass pot and pan brush to clean the skin white. This will remove the fat and meat. If the snake suffered trauma such as being run over or hit with a shovel, there may be redish spots that will not come out. Don't worry about them.
10. Once the skin is clean, white, and wet, pin it out on a styrofoam board.
11. In Arizona the skin can dry within a short period. I keep it out of the sun.
12. As the skin goes from wet to damp and then to almost dry, I lightly paint a 50/50 mix of glycerin and isopropyl alcohol on it. I do this as needed depending on how fast the mix sinks in and dries. I try to not let it get too dry or too thick with the mix. In most cases four applications over a period of a day or two does the trick. When I see the flesh side of the skin looks damp, I stop and let it sit for a week or two.
13. When the snake body has turned into a disgusting slurry and the bones have separated, I dump the putrid mess into a baffled gold pan and carefully flush the goo away, much like panning for gold. The vertebrae and ribs should remain.
14. Leave the bones in a little water and add some hydrogen peroxide to about a 50/50 mix and slosh it around to get it mixed up.
15. Leave the bones on the mix for a couple of days, then carefully flush the mix away until it's all clear water in the pan.
16. Dump the bones on a towel and let them dry. They will turn a nice white. I do not use bleach because it can cause the bones to become porous and break.
17. After a week or two, the skin should be ready to use.
18. Use duct tape to carefully remove the scales.
19. Use the skin as an overlay on leather items.

Notes:
I use Barge or a glue like it to glue the skin on other leather.
Rattlesnake skin is very thin and will wear through quickly if placed on a highly braided item.
Rattlesnake skin is translucent and will show other colors through it. Keep that in mind when doing a project.
I do not use antifreeze like some on Youtube. I have had skins separate and made useless using antifreeze.
I don't apply glycerin on the scale side. It seems to say on the surface and feel oily to the touch.
I have used this method in Florida and Arizona and have items I made 38 years ago in fine shape. Your results may vary.

Yep. The alky and glycerin is the way to do it. Good tutorial!

wm

Thanks for the info. I didn't know any of that which makes me glad I got out of bed today!

Do the skins stay pliable ? Do they stretch, shrink, or stay the same length & width ? Only timber rattlers around here, but copperheads are sometimes quite colorful. So, forgive my ignorance, do the patterns/colors fade ? Thanks for posting this info.

sheriff john said:

Do the skins stay pliable ? Do they stretch, shrink, or stay the same length & width ? Only timber rattlers around here, but copperheads are sometimes quite colorful. So, forgive my ignorance, do the patterns/colors fade ? Thanks for posting this info.

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After the skin is dry it's paper-thin and very delicate, There are only a few snakes that retain the color after tanning (none in the US) but the pattern will always be there.

sheriff john said:

Do the skins stay pliable ? Do they stretch, shrink, or stay the same length & width ? Only timber rattlers around here, but copperheads are sometimes quite colorful. So, forgive my ignorance, do the patterns/colors fade ? Thanks for posting this info.

Click to expand...

The skins stay pliable if done correctly. If they are allowed to dry first, they do shrink, which is why I start applying the mix as it dries. The neck area does stretch a great deal as that is how they are able to swallow large prey. To me, the neck area is some of the least desirable in looks.

Like Andy said, the color changes so it won't look identical to the live snake. I have tried dying the base leather to counteract the change with little success. I have even tried dying the skin itself. It works but doesn't look right.
I recommend skinning a few and seeing how they turn out. The coloring and pattern vary greatly from snake to snake.

I forgot to mention that I keep my snakes in the freezer until I have time to skin them. Don't leave them in for too long or it can damage the skin. I also find skinning a roadkill as soon as it starts to thaw reduces any smell.

I have bought some chrome alum to see how that does vs the glycerin mix. The last time I used it in the 1980s it turned the skin a light blue so I am going to experiment on junk skin first.

Notice I don't use salt to dry it. I went that route a few times and it became a nightmare. Keep them frozen until you can start to work it and no salt is needed.

Salt will create rust if the leather touches metal… even after flushing! At least mine did.

Great tutorial! Thanks for posting.

Skin that un’ pilgrim and I’ll get you another!

What do you do with the bones?

Scott said:

What do you do with the bones?

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I use them as beads. Most are strung on leather as a hatband.

Cholla said:

I have been asked to tell how I prep rattlesnake skins.
1. Remove and dispose of the head.
2. Cut off the rattle at the first segment and dry. I don't use the rattle attached to the skin so I cut it off.
3. if you do not plan on using the skin from the anus to the rattle, cut the tail off just ahead of the anus. here in AZ we have the coontail sections that if large enough can make interesting items.
4. Using scissors, cut the neck cleanly so the skin won't be ragged.
5. Turn the snake on its back and cut straight down the center of the belly scales from one end to the other.
6. Using your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the body at the neck, then pull the entire skin away. Rattlesnakes are fatty so the skin comes off as easy as peeling off a sock.
7. If you're not eating the tiny amount of meat found along the back bone, place the body in a sealed juice bottle filled with water. leave it to sit in the sun with the cap loose enough to allow gas to escape. Place it somewhere the smell won't offend anyone and critters can get to it.
8. Place the skin, flesh side up on a board, and run a garden hose over it just enough to lay the skin out.
9. While running the water over it, use a brass pot and pan brush to clean the skin white. This will remove the fat and meat. If the snake suffered trauma such as being run over or hit with a shovel, there may be redish spots that will not come out. Don't worry about them.
10. Once the skin is clean, white, and wet, pin it out on a styrofoam board.
11. In Arizona the skin can dry within a short period. I keep it out of the sun.
12. As the skin goes from wet to damp and then to almost dry, I lightly paint a 50/50 mix of glycerin and isopropyl alcohol on it. I do this as needed depending on how fast the mix sinks in and dries. I try to not let it get too dry or too thick with the mix. In most cases four applications over a period of a day or two does the trick. When I see the flesh side of the skin looks damp, I stop and let it sit for a week or two.
13. When the snake body has turned into a disgusting slurry and the bones have separated, I dump the putrid mess into a baffled gold pan and carefully flush the goo away, much like panning for gold. The vertebrae and ribs should remain.
14. Leave the bones in a little water and add some hydrogen peroxide to about a 50/50 mix and slosh it around to get it mixed up.
15. Leave the bones on the mix for a couple of days, then carefully flush the mix away until it's all clear water in the pan.
16. Dump the bones on a towel and let them dry. They will turn a nice white. I do not use bleach because it can cause the bones to become porous and break.
17. After a week or two, the skin should be ready to use.
18. Use duct tape to carefully remove the scales.
19. Use the skin as an overlay on leather items.

Notes:
I use Barge or a glue like it to glue the skin on other leather.
Rattlesnake skin is very thin and will wear through quickly if placed on a highly braided item.
Rattlesnake skin is translucent and will show other colors through it. Keep that in mind when doing a project.
I do not use antifreeze like some on Youtube. I have had skins separate and made useless using antifreeze.
I don't apply glycerin on the scale side. It seems to say on the surface and feel oily to the touch.
I have used this method in Florida and Arizona and have items I made 38 years ago in fine shape. Your results may vary.

View attachment 123746View attachment 123745View attachment 123747View attachment 123748

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I've been asked to make a rattlesnake wallet for a really good life long friend. I was wondering if you sell the hide ready to work?
Neil

What did you do with the meat?

Capnball said:

I've been asked to make a rattlesnake wallet for a really good life long friend. I was wondering if you sell the hide ready to work?
Neil

Click to expand...

All I have is an Arizona Black Rattlesnake skin right now. It is very boring to look at. It takes a big snake to be wide enough for a wallet. I recommend looking on eBay. There was a guy on there selling skins.

david w said:

What did you do with the meat?

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I have eaten it. I don't care for it. We don't get the massive snakes here as they get in Texas or Florida so the amount of meat is very small. Basically, it is a thin "tenderloin" strip that follows the vertebrae. Since I use the vertebrae, I am not going to damage them by trying to scrap the little bit of meat off. Most of the snakes are road kills so I am not eating them anyway. I used to give the body to a friend (before I used the bones) and he would chunk the body up, flour it, and then deep-fry it. He would bring it back over wanting me to eat some. 90% of the chunk was rib bones and vertebrae so I had to peel all of the breading off to get a tiny piece of meat. It wasn't worth the effort. If I were getting the big snakes I used to get in Florida or the ones I see from Texas, it would be a different story. I would get the meat and grind it with spices and make sausage.

Cholla said:

All I have is an Arizona Black Rattlesnake skin right now. It is very boring to look at. It takes a big snake to be wide enough for a wallet. I recommend looking on eBay. There was a guy on there selling skins.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Your post answered alot of questions about working with it. I'm just doing a basic bifold with a couple pockets inside. I may frame the skin with some tooling just to make it a little more durable. This is a minimalist wallet I made for my cousin.

Capnball said:

Thanks for the reply. Your post answered alot of questions about working with it. I'm just doing a basic bifold with a couple pockets inside. I may frame the skin with some tooling just to make it a little more durable. This is a minimalist wallet I made for my cousin.

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That will be better. Snakeskin is very thin and not as durable as we would like. A wallet is very abused and the constant folding, sweat, and rubbing would wear the skin out rapidly. Here is a sheath I made doing what I think you're talking about. It used a much narrower piece of skin and the edges are not exposed. I made the top, cut out the section where I wanted the snakeskin, then shaved the piece I took out to allow the thickness of the skin, glued it to a thin 1-2 ounce backing, glued the snakeskin on it, and sewed it together

Cholla said:

That will be better. Snakeskin is very thin and not as durable as we would like. A wallet is very abused and the constant folding, sweat, and rubbing would wear the skin out rapidly. Here is a sheath I made doing what I think you're talking about. It used a much narrower piece of skin and the edges are not exposed. I made the top, cut out the section where I wanted the snakeskin, then shaved the piece I took out to allow the thickness of the skin, glued it to a thin 1-2 ounce backing, glued the snakeskin on it, and sewed it together

View attachment 133867

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Nice!

Cholla said:

I have eaten it. I don't care for it. We don't get the massive snakes here as they get in Texas or Florida so the amount of meat is very small. Basically, it is a thin "tenderloin" strip that follows the vertebrae. Since I use the vertebrae, I am not going to damage them by trying to scrap the little bit of meat off. Most of the snakes are road kills so I am not eating them anyway. I used to give the body to a friend (before I used the bones) and he would chunk the body up, flour it, and then deep-fry it. He would bring it back over wanting me to eat some. 90% of the chunk was rib bones and vertebrae so I had to peel all of the breading off to get a tiny piece of meat. It wasn't worth the effort. If I were getting the big snakes I used to get in Florida or the ones I see from Texas, it would be a different story. I would get the meat and grind it with spices and make sausage.

Click to expand...

We have some good sized one's here in Arkansas. I like the meat. And, no it doesn't taste like chicken.

Cholla said:

I have been asked to tell how I prep rattlesnake skins.
1. Remove and dispose of the head.
2. Cut off the rattle at the first segment and dry. I don't use the rattle attached to the skin so I cut it off.
3. if you do not plan on using the skin from the anus to the rattle, cut the tail off just ahead of the anus. here in AZ we have the coontail sections that if large enough can make interesting items.
4. Using scissors, cut the neck cleanly so the skin won't be ragged.
5. Turn the snake on its back and cut straight down the center of the belly scales from one end to the other.
6. Using your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the body at the neck, then pull the entire skin away. Rattlesnakes are fatty so the skin comes off as easy as peeling off a sock.
7. If you're not eating the tiny amount of meat found along the back bone, place the body in a sealed juice bottle filled with water. leave it to sit in the sun with the cap loose enough to allow gas to escape. Place it somewhere the smell won't offend anyone and critters can get to it.
8. Place the skin, flesh side up on a board, and run a garden hose over it just enough to lay the skin out.
9. While running the water over it, use a brass pot and pan brush to clean the skin white. This will remove the fat and meat. If the snake suffered trauma such as being run over or hit with a shovel, there may be redish spots that will not come out. Don't worry about them.
10. Once the skin is clean, white, and wet, pin it out on a styrofoam board.
11. In Arizona the skin can dry within a short period. I keep it out of the sun.
12. As the skin goes from wet to damp and then to almost dry, I lightly paint a 50/50 mix of glycerin and isopropyl alcohol on it. I do this as needed depending on how fast the mix sinks in and dries. I try to not let it get too dry or too thick with the mix. In most cases four applications over a period of a day or two does the trick. When I see the flesh side of the skin looks damp, I stop and let it sit for a week or two.
13. When the snake body has turned into a disgusting slurry and the bones have separated, I dump the putrid mess into a baffled gold pan and carefully flush the goo away, much like panning for gold. The vertebrae and ribs should remain.
14. Leave the bones in a little water and add some hydrogen peroxide to about a 50/50 mix and slosh it around to get it mixed up.
15. Leave the bones on the mix for a couple of days, then carefully flush the mix away until it's all clear water in the pan.
16. Dump the bones on a towel and let them dry. They will turn a nice white. I do not use bleach because it can cause the bones to become porous and break.
17. After a week or two, the skin should be ready to use.
18. Use duct tape to carefully remove the scales.
19. Use the skin as an overlay on leather items.

Notes:
I use Barge or a glue like it to glue the skin on other leather.
Rattlesnake skin is very thin and will wear through quickly if placed on a highly braided item.
Rattlesnake skin is translucent and will show other colors through it. Keep that in mind when doing a project.
I do not use antifreeze like some on Youtube. I have had skins separate and made useless using antifreeze.
I don't apply glycerin on the scale side. It seems to say on the surface and feel oily to the touch.
I have used this method in Florida and Arizona and have items I made 38 years ago in fine shape. Your results may vary.

View attachment 123746View attachment 123745View attachment 123747View attachment 123748

Click to expand...

Thanks, really informative, always wondered how this was done.

Interesting info. I don't plan to cure any snakeskins but I liked your post.

I like your method and will have to give it a try. I have always just used Knoblochs' Replite Tan or True-Tan Reptile formula, I have heard you can also use 'the Red Bottle' tanning formula but have never tried it myself.
I do like Knoblochs as the hide stays very flexible and I loose almost no color, have used on rattlers, gopher snake, king snakes, and even a yellow rat snake once.