I need special pictures

[jgerbil]

I'm putting together a special presentation about gerbil teeth. It's mostly about how they grow. I need some pictures of a gerbils mouth (preferably a skeleton so i can make it very clear), and some 3D models for Groboto or OpenGL would be very helpful. I know it sounds strange and cruel to be asking for this, but I am using it to educate people about this.

When it is finished, whether or not your pictures are used, I'll post it here for you. Thanks!

[belldandy]

interesting hope you find pics of the teeth/skeleton that you need

[jgerbil]

Thanks. Ive been searching a lot, but haven't found anything yet.

[jgerbil]

Nothing at all then? Ok, I'll keep asking around.

[jgerbil]

This is the last time I'm bumping the thread up, so any suggested pictures are needed VERY soon! I have to have the presentation done on Monday morning

[ohmylokix]

Do you have a backup project?

I don't keep any of my gerbils' skeletons..

[brighttreegerbils]

My partner and I actually had a conversation inspired by this thread about how one would go about getting a gerbil skeleton.

The conclusion we came to was that it would be a messy process and might require the use of acids to remove all the soft tissues from the bones and that in any process you used you would likely lose some of the bones since some are incredibly small.

What is the nature of your project? I'm in school to teach high school biology, so I'm professionally curious.

-Matt

[jgerbil]

It's a school project. I have to create a presentation (PowerPoint of keynote) that has educational value and involves animals. I thought this would be a great way to tell the other gerbil owners in my class about this subject. You see, most of them don't even know that gerbil teeth grow constantly, and their gerbils die often. They seem to think that gerbils just have a very short lifespan, and they ask how mine were able to live so long. If I can give them a good presentation about this, the school project is both meaningful and life saving.

[kryspkreme]

if you cant find photos you could always try to draw and label some yourself to. I tried looking but interestingly enough, there aren't any skeletal photos of gerbils that concentrate on the head (at least from what I've found)

[jgerbil]

The problem is that I don't know exactly how everything looks, and accuracy is important.

[johanne]

Given that all rodents have teeth that grow constantly, why not look for that for another rodent? I don't imagine that tooth studies for all rodents have been done or ever will be. It's the same concept whatever the rodent.

[Shooting Star]

Darn, if I hadn't been cramming for exams this weekend... I have a well-preserved, almost complete squirrel skull I can take pictures of, if anyone's still interested.

Matt, I actually did a project earlier this fall on cleaning small mammal skulls. The best method, in my opinion, is utilizing insect activity, followed by a bit of cold-water maceration. It does get tricky with the smaller skulls, and it smells to high heaven, but it works well for squirrel-sized skulls and larger, particularly if they are already partially cleaned by predators/scavengers. I didn't try the cold-water maceration on anything smaller than a squirrel. I have a partial woodrat skull that was found mostly clean and was just rinsed and disinfected, and I had originally planned to work on a couple frozen "feeder" rats, but didn't have time. (No animals were harmed in the making of this project; all animals were already deceased, killed by predators or cars.)

[jgerbil]

I'd love to get the pictures and make the presentation anyway, but the school project was due last yesterday. By the way, I ended up doing a presentation on the goblin shark instead, and I got an 86%.

[collie101]

I wish I would have known abou this thread earlier because I have 6 buried gerbilds that I could have dug up a baby and an adult and taken a pic.

[reesesturtles]

I just noticed this thread, go figure. WARNING: Grotesque descriptions below:

I had to clean a rat skull one time for a college vertebrate biology class. After skinning it (which was *horribly* tedious) I had to boil the skull (a process that stinks to the skies) to remove the flesh. If you want the skull to be a "pretty white" then you soak if for a short time in diluted bleach. Be sure the bleach is diluted at least 1/10, possibly 1/20. If the bleach is too concentrated, it will turn all your efforts into a white calcium powder.

An easier and less icky method (in my book), if you have the time and property available, is to stick the skull into an ant-bed (fire-ants are superb, but any ant-bed would work). They'll clean that skull right up for you. Then just a little sun-bleaching or diluted clorox bleaching to make it white once the ants have done their job. But try not to get bit by the ants--that's the tricky part.