# Can I iron a snakeskin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723 "2003-04-14T20:18:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723/1 "2003-04-14T20:18:15Z")
I figure someone here has got to know the answer to this. I have a tanned cobra skin that’s been tacked to the wall in my bathroom for many years. However, of late it has developed a noticeable curl to it, and I’d like to flatten it out. How should I go about this? Can I iron it, or is there some other way to get it to lie flat again? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723/2 "2003-04-14T21:34:41Z")
Strange…there don’t seem to be any Google hits for “ironing snakeskin”. At last–something that’s too esoteric for the Internet. 😃 Was it tanned, or is it simply a dried snakeskin? If it was tanned, then it’ll be flexible, like soft leather. If it’s just a dried snakeskin, I don’t think it’d be sturdy enough to stand up to ironing. I’d just press it flat between a couple of big heavy books. If it was tanned, then it’s a kind of leather, and here’s how you iron leather. [http://www.leatherexporters.com/leathercare2.htm](http://www.leatherexporters.com/leathercare2.htm) > [@](#): > > Wrinkles usually will work themselves out during hanging but if ironing is necessary, cover the garment with heavy paper, set your iron on it’s lowest setting without steam and iron. Be sure that your garment is dry before ironing and that the iron is continually moved across the surface of the garment when pressing. Or you could just do the “Webster’s Unabridged” thing. ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723/3 "2003-04-14T21:51:21Z")
I’m not exactly clear on this anymore. It’s been awhile, but I once had a few rattlesnake skins and was told to soak them in antifreeze to soften them. Maybe I had my leg pulled, though. ---
**Author:** ![Foolonthehill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Foolonthehill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foolonthehill)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723/4 "2003-04-14T23:07:28Z")
With rattlesnake skins, when they would dry out we would rub baby oil. (very tiny amount), in them and press them under volumes of the encyclopedia, using waxpaper between skin and book. Seems like we would let them set for at least a week. ---
**Author:** ![Rattlesnakesnwhiskey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Rattlesnakesnwhiskey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlesnakesnwhiskey)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723/5 "2022-12-17T02:56:39Z")
Antifreeze will preserve the skin too if you submerge the skin in a jar that can be sealed. Just took mine out to dry after being kept that way for 9 years! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-iron-a-snakeskin/168723/6 "2022-12-17T21:21:51Z")
Can you preserve them in whiskey?