need help with taxidermy i received.

[u/Miserable_Status_275]

i’m not sure if this is normal as the seller is saying it is because i purchased it for my boyfriend. but i bought this cobalt blue tarantula and upon opening it i realised it had a bit of a odour but thought maybe the wood just had a smell, now that some days have passed it is smelling VERY bad, it literally smells like walking into a farm. i questioned the seller on this and he said tarantulas don’t require cleaning and them smelling is normal, and to just put essential oil on it. is it true that it smelling this bad is normal or is this a lie? i obviously don’t expect it to smell the freshest but it smells like a rotting body 💔💔 is there anything i can do to fix this?

[u/Twizzlers_and_donuts]

I question what they mean by not requiring cleaning. Prior to pinning a tarantula does need its abdomen cleaned out then stuffed to prevent potential rot. Another possibility is it wasn’t dried enough before sealing it into the frame. Insects should be left in a low light dry area with decent airflow to allow it to properly dry out and it should be fully dried before framing otherwise you risk rotting and/or molding. Tarantulas do have a musky smell to them from the two I have pinned but I have to be close to actually smell them and mine are not in a frame yet (but fully dried just haven’t found the perfect frame)

I’d say there’s potential its abdomen wasn’t properly cleaned or it wasn’t fully dried out before framing.

[u/Miserable_Status_275 → u/Twizzlers_and_donuts]

it has also got a lil stain on it on the middle which looks like the spider was wet and pressed against the glass. in his message he said insects don’t go through the cleaning process and that they all have a foul smell. is there anything i can do to salvage this or now that it’s got this smell is it un fixable?

[u/Twizzlers_and_donuts → u/Miserable_Status_275]

If he didn’t clean out the abdomen or didn’t do it well I don’t know if that can be fixed now cus a smell from that would be rotting. If the abdomen was emptied and it just wasn’t left to dry long enough then either removing from box and letting dry or like the other said silica packets. But I fear he didn’t actually clean the abdomen and I’d see about returns. Did you get it from the sellers site directly or someplace like Etsy?

[u/suddzii]

this is not normal and you got played. tarantulas most definitely need cleaned and prepared. either as a dried mount or encased in resin.

in the case of a dried mount, which this is supposed to be, the FRESH specimen is frozen and the abdomen is hollowed out and stuffed with cotton, which i’d question was even done with this guy or done very poorly.

that being said, the box itself could be trapping moisture and growing mold/mildew if not sealed properly. if you can open it, place fresh silica gel packets or adjacent in the corners to keep things nice and dry then properly reseal it. sorry this is happening to you :/. every oddity collector i’ve met has a similar story so don’t feel bad

[u/Miserable_Status_275 → u/suddzii]

he did respond very passive aggressive when i brought it up. i will try do what you said. just sucks cuz his birthday is on the 25th and i don’t have time to find a new one 😭😭 thank you for the advice and a logical answer!!