def _save_data(filename, data):
    """
    Save formatted skeleton data to a pickle file
    """
    if filename[-2:] == ".p":
        filename = filename
    else:
        filename = str(filename + ".p")

    with open(filename, 'wb') as fp:
        pickle.dump(data, fp, protocol=pickle.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL)
    print("Saved data to file: " + filename)