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Freezing & Thawing of Taxidermy Mounts

Hello Fellas- I may have to put an elk shoulder mount in an unheated outbuilding near Gunnison, Colorado. Surely someone else has done this, so my question is will the constant periods of freezing and thawing (and being in constant freezing temperatures for at least 3 months out of the year) damage the mount and shorten its lifespan? Any experience with this scenario that you might have would be greatly appreciated.

I don't have personal experience with it but this is a really good question. I can't say for sure humidity needs to be taken into consideration but I doubt that's a concern near Gunnison.

Give a good taxidermist a call, or maybe one will chime in here.

It is a great question though

I think mice and mouths would be my concern

Yes that will degrade the mount without question.

Yep, it's not good on a mount. Mice and squirrels can take a toil too. Most likely cracking around eyes and nose and maybe ears. Depends on quality of work to some degree.

Other than micro cycles of heaving (shrinking and swelling) from temp fluctuations, direct sunlight will do to damage a mount more than anything else.

For something to "freeze", it has to contain moisture, which when the hide paste is fully cured (which it probably is) and the cape fully dried, cape movement on the form should be non-existent.

Cracking and peeling around the nose, lips, and eyes is a different matter.

I have a mount in my house that is 30 years old that you'd think was hanging in an unheated out building, but never has...

The clay the taxidermists use around the facial features could be an issue, but call around to taxidermists and see if they’ve dealt with it before. Could potentially be something they could fix in the future if it comes down to it.

The taxidermist that mounted them might house them in his showroom for a while if you needed temporary storage, wouldn’t hurt to ask.

^^^ if the clay is fully dried, it can't freeze and thaw. Drying too fast will initial the cape pulling away and then over time the cape can begin to "micro-crack".

If freezing and thawing of mud/clay were an issue, there would be no surviving structures in antiquity...

That’s right, I’m an idiot. I’m assuming the glue is what causes the issue in the cape then? Or am I way off and it just does it on its own?

Definitely not an ideal storage solution. Fluctuating humidity is the biggest killer of mounted animals. Exposure to direct sunlight via a window is probably second. Then there's heat like when you hang them over a fireplace. Regardless of how the cape was processed there is some amount of salt used on a cape. That salt penetrates the skin and over time absorbs/releases moisture as the humidity fluctuates. Eventually the thin skinned areas: eyes, ears, lips, nose will crack. The skin swells and shrinks due to the humidity. It's a small amount but over years it will break down the skin. In a perfect world the glue would prevent the movement but most use a water based glue that will eventually give way. Many don't actually know how to use the glue to begin with but that's another story.

Definitely not an ideal storage solution. Fluctuating humidity is the biggest killer of mounted animals. Exposure to direct sunlight via a window is probably second. Then there's heat like when you hang them over a fireplace. Regardless of how the cape was processed there is some amount of salt used on a cape. That salt penetrates the skin and over time absorbs/releases moisture as the humidity fluctuates. Eventually the thin skinned areas: eyes, ears, lips, nose will crack. The skin swells and shrinks due to the humidity. It's a small amount but over years it will break down the skin. In a perfect world the glue would prevent the movement but most use a water based glue that will eventually give way. Many don't actually know how to use the glue to begin with but that's another story.

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