How to "keep" a turle shell?

[Soilarch]

So me and my buddies got a snapper that was HUGE tonight. I kept the top half of the shell (a little bigger than an oversized tennis racket). The neck on this thing was the size of my forearm halfway up...heck his wrists were nearly as big as mine!

That inside of it looks like plain bone and wont need any treatment. The outside is a little more like a leather coating. (no it wasn't a softback).

Will that outside covering dry up and harden on its own or is there anything I need to do to it?

[HighDesertWolf]

what we used to do was let it set out for a few days so thats its relatively dry the tissue can be moist just not wet. then give it a 3 or 4 coats of clear laquer. otherwise with no treatment it will just dry up and look dull.