A two-headed carpet python (Morelia sp) that hatched this week in Australia has been euthanized after an examination by a veterinarian at the The Unus
A two-headed carpet python (Morelia sp) that hatched this week in Australia has been euthanized after an examination by a veterinarian at the The Unusual Pet Vets in Jindalee determined the snake would likely not survive. A CT scan and radiographs were conducted on the two-headed snake, named Two-face, which showed several internal issues that would have been detrimental to its quality of life.
“Although two-headed reptiles do occasionally occur, they rarely survive,” The Unusual Pet Vets said in a statement on Facebook. “In this case, there were a large number of unaffected individuals in the clutch. This was likely a random occurrence, and no underlying issues with incubation or husbandry were suspected. Two-faces owner consented to a post-mortem exam which would allow us to gain as much information as possible. What we found may help determine when things went wrong during the division process”
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The snake had two heads and brains, a divided spine, two tracheas and two lungs, and two oesophagi leading to two stomachs. It shared a single small intestine, large intestine and cloaca. It also had two kidneys when there should be four, and two hearts, but one was much smaller and compressed than the other and the radiographs and scans showed one head getting much less blood flow than the other head. The veterinarians believed the second smaller heart would have eventually stop functioning.
The condition of having two heads is known as bicephaly. It seems to occur more often in reptiles, but also occurs in other animals. Those animals, however, usually don’t live long. Two-headed reptiles do survive in captivity, and some have been found living in the wild.
Two-headed snakes are rare but not uncommon. They are said to live a shortened life in the wild due to the fact that they have two heads, which may inhibit their defenses when faced by predators. Cases of captive-born, two-headed snakes occur almost every year.
A jungle carpet python. Photo by fivespots/Shutterstock
Carpet pythons are native to Australia and New Guinea and are a hardy, medium-sized python. They are called carpet pythons due to their beautiful colorations that some say look like the patterns and colors of the woven carpets of the Middle East. There are a range of subspecies of carpet python and they are also widely captive-bred for reptile keepers. Carpet pythons are popular pet snakes in Australia due to their mild disposition. The snake can grow to about 8 feet in length and can live more than 20 years. These snakes are also available in the United States pet trade.
