The two-headed coastal carpet python share the same body but different necks.
John McNamara, a snake breeder in Wodonga Australia got the surprise of his life as a snake breeder when last week, a clutch of 10 coastal carpet pythons hatched and one of the eggs pipped with two heads. McNamara initially thought that there were two identical twins in the single egg, but when the snakes came out of the shell, he realized that there was just a single snake, but with two heads. The hatchling carpet python(s) share the same tail and body, but have entirely separate necks. The heads are completely independent.
“There would have been two yolks and they just haven't split properly. . . and I ended up with this,” he told Border Mail.
“I've got a lot of mates that breed reptiles, and have rung around and it’s pretty rare in the trade. “To be alive still is even rarer.”
McNamara is looking for a reptile vet to help him out because he realizes the potential fragility posed to the two-headed snake. He would like to find out which head is the dominant head and what organs may be joined, and the general anatomy of the python so he can properly care for it.
Because each head has its own neck, feeding the snake could be a challenge, especially given that they appear to have the capacity to go after the same meal. Other two-headed snakes are often joined closer up the head and share the same neck, but Katana and Wakizashi, as McNamara has named them do not. so feeding them will most likely be a challenge.
