[HOW TO] Scorpion Taxidermy

Thought i would post this because a lot of people preserve their scorpions in some sort of liquid (cant remember off the top of my head what its called!!!) but i have noticed that these preserved examples lose their colour... I found a way that pretty much keeps a high percentage of the colour and is very cheap although can be fiddly to do depending on which way you do it... and the main ingredient???? EXTRA HOLD HAIRSPRAY... because they're worth it (sorry!)


You need: hairspray (any extra hold one but preferably a good quality one like VO5) a scalpel, small sliver of paper/thin card, blue tac, a plate, and a small 'scooping' spoon (i find that there is a pipe cleaning spoon you can get from tabaconists that is very useful for this job), cotton wool or foam, Q-tips (cotton buds), small pot of black enamal paint and a fine paint brush & superglue

firstly take a picture of the scorp from the side (very important) and do this as soon as you notice your scorpion has died so that it is still malleable and not ridgid.

get a plate or something with a smooth flat surface to work with and that, if your scorp sticks to the plate it easily comes off.

cut along the side of the scorpion just above the belly segments, very carefully scoop out the insides.

Now referring to the photo you took gently stuff it with cotton wool (fluff up the cotton wool buy pinching little tiny bits off it makes it easier to put in... or if ya being really creative cut foam to the exact size of the body and tuck it in.

If using foam you can then glue (using super glue) the body to the foam, cotton wool its a little harder but i cut a thin strip of paper / card, tuck it along the cut and glue the body to it.

Let it dry (wont take long) then hair spray it, starting from the underside on the body - try not to spray the legs yet - any droplets use a Q tip to absorb them.

Then when thats dry turn it over and spray the top of the scorp, if you want the tail to be up you may need to use blue tac to support it. Also shape the legs n peds at this point. If you want peds open stick some blue tac in to hold them open or they will just close shut.
Again use Q tip to absorb any droplets on the hairs

again when dry turn the scorpion belly side up and finish up spraying the underside including the legs and peds. Once again use Q tip if necessary for absorbing excess.

Leave to totally dry in a warm place, wont take long may be an hour or so then you end up with a very real looking scorpion that wont loose its colour and looks like its still very much alive.

wait about 24hours for it to be fully dry then with your paint and paint brush (may be a magnifing lens) very carefully paint back on the eyes (they go white otherwise)

Then if you're feeling very artistic get a plaque, glue some substrate and decoration to it and you have a lovely taxidermy masterpiece!

On the other hand if you cant be bothered with the stuffing part you can still just hairspray it, it will deflate a bit but it will still look pretty good if you model it into position.

I would post some completed pics but unfortunately my ex stole all my specimens. but next time chance comes up i will post some finished ones.

hope this works for you as it does for me.

Lady R xx

Nice!!!!!!

Very nice guide! I've only ever used the lazy method (boil briefly to fix exoskeleton proteins, soak in acetone for several days, and air-dry). I may have to try this with a few of my specimens in the freezer.

pretty cool, who would have thought to use hair spray, what made you think to use it??? h and the liquid people use i think its lucite

cant you just stick it in a jar of concentrated alcahol?

Yes, but that makes for a really poor display specimen.

And big specimens will stink through the alcohol. I use hairspray as well. Picked it up after I started using it for my charcoal drawings.

i only found out after my first emp died and wanted to preserve it asap... it was a sunday and nothing was open and needed something!

did you also know the stronger hairsprays are not just good for charcoal and chalk pictures but also for getting biro out of leather sofa's! - good tip to anyone with kids.