Supplies Comments
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These sources are not meant to be endorsements; they are simply places where institutions have done business in recent years. All are in the U.S.A., but many deal internationally.
| Supply | Comments |
Field and Research Supplies
| Archival notebook paper | MVZ: We custom-order our notebook paper from UC Printing Services. Specifications are: 6-3/8" x 8-3/4", 100% cotton fiber, vertical line in red ink, horizontal lines in faint blue ink, with 3-hole punching. We always provide a sample. I'm not sure if they provide services to institutions outside of California. LSU: At LSUMNS, we buy Crane's thesis paper then have it printed, cut, |
| Auxiliary barrels | UAF: Browning Little Skeeter "gauge reducers" for 12, 16, and 20 gauge shotguns, but none to reduce to .22. |
| Shells (0.410, #12) | SBCM: I have purchased and used this Rio Ammunition .410 shells from Cheaper Than Dirt, they are excellent and the price isn’t bad... |
| Shot and reloading | USNM: Currently there are no cartridge manufacturers that supply .410 shells in Avinet: #11 may be a good alternative to #12 shot - it flies truer and farther and you can't tell the difference in size of hole. UWGB: We've had good success using CCI maxi-mag, .22 WMR shotshells. These also come in .22 longrifle size (mini-mag). You have 1/8 oz, #12 shot... roughly 175 pellets. The range is not as good as 410. |
| Tags | MVZ: We always custom-order our tags in large quantities, and provide a sample for duplication of specificiations. The last time we ordered tags from Avery Dennison Co. was in 1991. |
Museum Supplies and Services
| Plastic specimen tubes | NCSM: Years ago we got ours from a plumbing supply type store. I'm sure any of them would carry the stuff; it seemed pretty standard. We didn't/don't worry about the type of plastic because it's only for hands-on, educational programs, and if the cardinals and blue jays fade a bit we just get others. So far, after almost 10 years, we haven't seen any fading ..... and the specimens are in good shape thanks to the tube protection. In general you don't want to use any Naphthalene or PDB with these; PDB especially tends to "glaze" the plastic, if not outright melt it....... UWGB: You can obtain various diameters at most stores that sell fluorescent light bulbs. We get ours from a local Home Depot.... they are called safety tubes, but they also filter out UV, so we use them in our work areas and some of our display cabinets slipped over our fluorescent bulbs. You will have to improvise on sealing the ends. We've used corks, cut wooden doll, and just foam rubber shipping material. |
| Plastic specimen tubes | Burke: The mammal folks here at the Burke use these tubes for storing semi-articulated skeletons. They come in various sizes, and include caps. They seem to hold up well with no-pest strips for fumigant. Contact Sam Culmback (). |
| Plastic specimen tubes | UMMZ: Plastic tubes & caps (Tube-Pak)are available in a wide variety of sizes from Consolidated Plastics. Most come in 6' lengths. |
| Specimen boxes and trays | MVZ: All Packaging Co. will custom-make specimen boxes or trays to your specifications. Always be sure to include a sample. |
| Specimen cases and tanks | MVZ: Delta Designs, Ltd., will custom-make any style museum cabinet, specimen drawer, and steel tank for wet specimens. They will provide a quote that includes shipping and installation. We've been very pleased with our cabinets and tanks. |
Skinning and Specimen Preparation
| Cotton | MVZ: It's hard to find good quality, long-fiber, non-absorbent, bleached cotton. We special-order Padco cotton through VWR. The quality is not as good as in the past (fibers not as long, more particle matter). |
| Cotton | UMMZ: Pretty cheap at Schein veterinary supplies. If you get a bunch I think the shipping is free. |
| Cotton | USNM: We use two different types of long fiber cotton for stuffing and wrapping skins. Some of us old timers prefer using the Red Cross long fiber sterile cotton in the 1 lb rolls. We buy ours from a local medical supply company. Some of our younger staff prefer a different cotton. It is a long fiber cotton which we purchased from Upholstery Felt Co. We did have to buy about 500 lbs as a minimum order so it was expensive. That was about 4 years ago [2000]. I checked our purchase order and it was just called long fiber cotton. Brian says it is not quite the best for wrapping but then he and most of our active skinners are pinning specimens these days rather than wrapping. |
| Scissors, forceps, etc. | UAF: Much cheaper from Indigo Instruments than Fisher or VWR. |
| Skinning dust (corncobs) | NSM: Cob Fines No. 4 ( Item number BJ-01350599). NCSM: We use, and like, this stuff too. We also make our own special blend with this and the very coarse Number 1. |
Tissues
| Cryo labels (Cryo-babies) | UAF: We use these labels on the Perfector vapor-phase LN2 cryovials, a cheaper solution for lab-based preparation and preservation of frozen tissues not requiring immersion in LN2. |
| Cryovials | MVZ: We use sterile 2ml Nalgene vials for frozen tissues, and sterile 1.5ml Nalgene vials with a gasket seat for non-frozen tissues (tissues preserved in ETOH or buffer). |
Corrections and further contributions are welcome. Email Carla Cicero ( ).
For additional comments on supplies, see Winker (2000) and the AVECOL web site.