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Rigor mortis/rotting in severed body parts?
My mom found the tail of a chipmunk that a stray cat killed. At the time we could move it and everything. Now after a few days its gone stiff.
My mom says that the skin in the tail isn't going to rot, and we don't have to skin the tail and let it dry in the sun in order to have it stay preserved. Is this true?
1 Answer
- KimberlyLv 41 decade agoFavorite Answer
Pretty much. After a few days the tissue has dried out, which is why it's now stiff. It's going to stay this way.
BTW, rigor mortis starts about an hour after death, and eases a few hours after that (shorter in small animals, longer in bigger critters).
Oh, and kudos to your mom for letting you explore this instead of the knee-jerk "ew, ew."
