turtle shell help

[GaTrapper]

hey ya'll,

i caught a turtle in early may and the shell is finally good and i want to hang it in my room. What can i put on the outer shell so it will look good and glossy and what can i put in the inside so it will kill all the bakteria

[robertw]

Gatrapper,
I am not the best person to help you with this but......since no one else has voluteered. I would coat the shell with a clear varnish or polyurethane. To kill the bacteria (or what ever) I try using peroxide, just don't let it get on the "Shell" side and possibly bleach out your coloring on the shell.

Bleach water would probably work well but again be very carefull so not to bleach out the color on the "Shell" side.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[RiverRat]

Ever try Turtle wax

[Possum]

I caught a whack of turtles a couple months ago and noticing the going rate for nice shells on Ebay was 25 bucks, I looked into it. The gist of the answers is: Top of shell, polyurethane. Underside of shell: treat with borax. (Neatest way to get meat scraps out of shell--toss it in with some chickens!)

[Duff]

Possum, your from Indiana right?

Are we allowed to sell turtle shells?

[bobwendt]

turtles or their parts may not be sold in indiana. indiana dnr is on the bad mood bigtime now. you better not get caught up in it

[Duff]

Thanks Bob, I knew we could not sell the meat anymore and just assumed that meant any parts.

When I saw him post the going rate of $25 for the shell, I would have headed accross the street and set a trot line. Last time I did that I had more turtles in 3 nights then I knew what to do with.