Split Warthog Tusks

[fish hunter]

Just received today my animals from my 2019 hunt. Was really disappointed when I found my warthog tusks were split in half. I never had this happen on my first safari where I killed 2 warthogs. Now I need a little advice on the best way to fix them. I was thinking of taping them back together and fill with some type epoxy then sand down later if any of the epoxy leaked out the cracks. Any tips would greatly be appreciated.

 

[thriller]

Sorry to see this. I use some quick set clear epoxy on hogs teeth down here in Alabama. And just wipe it off before it sets. Works ok but not always perfect. You might be able to glue together with a little something else (brush on breaks only) then fill with epoxy to stabilize. That stuff is real hard to get off without discoloring if it gets on the outside though. I am sure some of our resident taxidermists might have better ideas.

 

[fish hunter]

Also got some serious repairs on the hartebeest skull

 

[Thumper Mcgee]

Just received today my animals from my 2019 hunt. Was really disappointed when I found my warthog tusks were split in half. I never had this happen on my first safari where I killed 2 warthogs. Now I need a little advice on the best way to fix them. I was thinking of taping them back together and fill with some type epoxy then sand down later if any of the epoxy leaked out the cracks. Any tips would greatly be appreciated. View attachment 385825

that's a shame did they break in shipping

 

[fish hunter]

Not to sure. I think the hartebeest was dropped and the tusks over boiled considering they were shipped in hard crates.

 

[mark-hunter]

I would give it all for fixing to reputable taxidermy shop. I am sure they have done it before.
One of warthogs I received with same type of split tusks, and warthog was due for shoulder mount, so it went to taxidermist as I received. He fixed it all.

Few other sculls for euro mount, had minor damages, but pieces of sculls were around in the packs, so I collected them, and glued them. Same for few teeth. All good now, after gluing.

Even european boar tusks can get split like that.
When mounting, I mean before mounting, I usally pour in, full of candle wax, or silicone, depending what is at that time available around.

 

[Thumper Mcgee]

Not to sure. I think the hartebeest was dropped and the tusks over boiled considering they were shipped in hard crates.

thats a shame

 

[Trout Tracker]

Tape them together and fill them with glue from a hot glue gun. Excess comes off easy and they will hold together. I’ve done this with tusks from local feral pigs.

 

[Sarg]

Nice Hogs & Steenbok there, looks like a cracker Caracal to ?

Most Hog tusks will spit when taken from high humidity to low humidity climate or dried too much, lucky on the Warthog the Grinders are the main trophy .

When we process them I melt candle wax into them like mark-hunter advised, I've been told the paraffin soaks into the pores & helps to stop them drying out .

The ones I have repaired of mine I did as you said & taped together as best as possible & glued with a two part glue, then filled with resin or candle wax, some times they warp when they split & this is very difficult to repair !

 

[fish hunter]

Thanks guys. Think I’ll try the glue and fill with wax before the epoxy.

Nice Hogs & Steenbok there, looks like a cracker Caracal to ?

Most Hog tusks will spit when taken from high humidity to low humidity climate or dried too much, lucky on the Warthog the Grinders are the main trophy .

When we process them I melt candle wax into them like mark-hunter advised, I've been told the paraffin soaks into the pores & helps to stop them drying out .

The ones I have repaired of mine I did as you said & taped together as best as possible & glued with a two part glue, then filled with resin or candle wax, some times they warp when they split & this is very difficult to repair !

That skull is a cheetah. He will be getting mounted by my taxidermist along with the waterbuck I killed.

 

[PARA45]

That's a shame. Did you reach out to the whomever did this work, and ask for an explanation?

 

[Bos en Dal SAFARIS]

As it is both warthogs bottom tusks and the damage to the Hartebeest i would say the Raw prep was done wrong. I am no taxidermist by any means.

But have seen many warthog skulls and has many warthog tusks. And it is not a common thing for them to split. It must have something to do with the process it went through

Good luck in getting them fixed

P.s as PARA45 mentioned i would get in contact with the original taxidermist and notify them. Maybe you can save another hunter the same problem.

My best

 

[Sarg]

Great that would explain the size lol, thought it was monster Caracal, though it is rare to see Caracal trophy skulls, rarer still to see Cheetah !

 

[Bearbait1]

I was hoping someone had the answer to keep them from splitting. i have no experience with warthogs but have had bear teeth split and cant seem to figure out why.

 

[Steve Newcombe]

Sounds like they were over boiled and left out in the sun to dry too quickly.
best option now is to degrease them and fill with fibreglass resin

 

[fish hunter]

Fixed them the best I could. Combination of gorilla glue and then filled with epoxy.

 

[fish hunter]

I also treated the horns on my euro mounts. All the colour had faded from the boiling and they looked horrible. I wasn’t a fan of painting so I experimented with a floor cleaning product. I first tried it on a pronghorn euro mount I had and was pleased with the results. It made the colour pop out a lot better and with having a shinny look to it that much.

 

[fish hunter]

The hartebeest with one sided treated. [

 

[fish hunter]

Treated kudu and gemsbok.