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Sounds like you found a method you are going to go with. However, dermestid beetles would have probably been the best choice. Many taxidermist would have those.
Any type of carrion beetle would probably do the trick. You probably have beetles around that will be attracted to it. (Museums usually use dermestid beetles to remove flesh from bones that they want to save.) I think that burying it was a mistake--especially that deep. I'd probably just put it on the ground and let nature do its thing. Flies will also be attracted, and their maggots are natural decomposers, too. If you change your mind and go that route, make sure to secure it in some type of enclosure so that raccoons and other animals can't get at it--or drag the enclosure away. It will need to have large enough spaces so that the beetles and flies can get to it, but small enough so that the larger animals can't get in. I'd probably build an open wood frame and attach hardware cloth to it--or something with larger holes--and then secure that to the ground with stakes. Heck, maybe just an upside-down milk crate, weighted down and surrounded by fencing would work.
Any type of carrion beetle would probably do the trick. You probably have beetles around that will be attracted to it. (Museums usually use dermestid beetles to remove flesh from bones that they want to save.) I think that burying it was a mistake--especially that deep. I'd probably just put it on the ground and let nature do its thing. Flies will also be attracted, and their maggots are natural decomposers, too. If you change your mind and go that route, make sure to secure it in some type of enclosure so that raccoons and other animals can't get at it--or drag the enclosure away. It will need to have large enough spaces so that the beetles and flies can get to it, but small enough so that the larger animals can't get in. I'd probably build an open wood frame and attach hardware cloth to it--or something with larger holes--and then secure that to the ground with stakes. Heck, maybe just an upside-down milk crate, weighted down and surrounded by fencing would work.
That would work, but I suspect many people wouldn't want to watch their deceased pet rot...
That would work, but I suspect many people wouldn't want to watch their deceased pet rot...
True, but there's not much to see. It would also depend on the size of one's yard. It would probably be relatively easy to conceal it or put it out of sight. It might be more difficult to put it where the smell isn't noticeable...although the aroma should (hopefully) subside relatively quickly if the beetles and flies do their job.
I'm an entomologist and when I was a student making my first collection, the saddest collecting I did was picking carrion-burying beetles off a box tortoise that had flipped over on its back and was barely breathing. The beetles weren't even waiting for it to die completely before starting to feast on it. I turned it over, but I think by then it was too far gone to survive.
Museums use dermestid (carpet) beetles to clean bones. There's a taxidermy place east of Bend Oregon that I drove past once that had a sign outside advertising "Beetle-Cleaned Skulls," so they were probably using them, too.
Take a narrow and very sharp knife. Cut around the neck, each leg and the tail. Pull each out as far as you can. When you have all of that out, take a pressure washer and blast out what is left. We have some really big snapping turtles in Maine. Turtles do have spines. Several species of turtles such as the painted turtle or box turtle are protected. You might have a lot of explaining to do if you have one.
Painted and Box turtles are among the most popular pet species. And in any case I don't think that possession of a turtle shell is going to lead to a lot of interest by anyone.
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