I follow a few steps to clean and preserve horseshoe crab molts.
1. First I thoroughly wash the shell inside and out, sometimes you have to let it soak for a bit to get things to loosen up a bit.
2. I then soak the shell in a solution of bleach and water. Approximately 1/2 cup to about 3 gallons of water. I let it soak for about 20-30 minutes. This sterilizes the shell and removes any residual odor.
3. I then rinse the shell again to remove any bleach and dirt that may still be left on the shell.
4 I Then position the shell (it should be easy to put the tail in any position you’d like at this point) and let it dry thoroughly.
5. I then have a bath of lacquer that is thinned down with lacquer thinner, but if you’re just doing one, I’d recommend you use a spray can of lacquer that you can get from Lowes or any other home improvement or hardware store and give it at least one coat both inside and out.
It should dry pretty quickly (usually in about 5-10 minutes). At this point the shell will have a nice shine and the lacquer gives it more strength so that it will keep its shape.
That’s pretty much it. I’ve been considering adding this information on the site along with a video showing the process. Hopefully I can get this done soon.
what does horeshoe crabs eat
If you are still monitoring this thread, I’d love to see a “how-to” video on this. I’ve seen so many horseshoe crab shells in my life but have never even considered preserving them. This sounds really interesting.
This post takes me way back to my days at the beach in Cape Cod. I can remember seeing all the horseshoe crab shells lying around (and stepping on a few, ouch). I asked my father why there were so many dead ones. I don’t know if he knew or not, but he told me they get washed up on the beach and can’t get back to the ocean before the Sun came out the next day.
What do you do with the gills? I found one washed up and not alive during a noreaster in Florida. It’s dry, not smelling, but the under side is coming away from the top a little. Then there’s the gills. Help me if you can. Thanks!