Sleeping Fuzzy Mouse | Wet Specimen

Tiny fuzzy mouse in a 45mm glass dome with a black base.
 
All mice were donated to me after my rural area of Tasmania had a freak storm and residents lost power for up to 7 days or, in some cases, more. A local reptile handler offered me the contents of his freezer after it had defrosted with no power to refreeze it anytime soon.
 
I turned over 65 of these feeder mice into wet specimens that day, as refreezing and then defrosting a second time can change the proteins in which crosslink during fixation using formalin.
 
Fixation:
Fixation is achieved using a 10% clear formalin; formalin creates a chemical crosslink between proteins within the tissue structure. This is called fixing, and it prevents decomposition from occurring if done correctly by injection of the internals and soaking for a prolonged period of time to allow each specimen to fully preserve.
 
Solution:
The specimen is then taken from the formalin and soaked in distilled water for approximately 24 hours. This removes the formalin that has fixed the tissue and leaves the tissue fixed as the formalin is no longer needed. The wet specimen is then transferred into a dome and suspended in a solution of ethanol, pure glycerine, and an antifungal agent known as thymol. Your specimen should last you a lifetime with the proper care. If cared for properly, this specimen will not need a solution change.
 
Each specimen comes with a care card.
Keep out of direct sunlight.