Last summer I reported on the birth of Thelma and Louise, a two-headed Texas river cooter (Pseudemys texana) that came into the world at the San Anton
Last summer I reported on the birth of Thelma and Louise, a two-headed Texas river cooter (Pseudemys texana) that came into the world at the San Antonio Zoo in Texas. Well, it is with great sadness that the zoo reported July 29 that the turtle has died. Just 13 months in age, Thelma and Louise debuted to the world with great fanfare, with well wishers commenting from Russia to Australia on the zoo’s Facebook page.
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Two-headed Texas River Cooter Born At San Antonio Zoo
According to the zoo, Thelma and Louise, other than their bicephalic head, lived fairly normal neonate turtle lives, swimming happily in its enclosure and eating fairly normally until about two months ago. While the turtle received the best of care, including daily monitoring of the enclosure’s water quality, appropriate lighting, and feeding, and a great basking spot, for as yet determined reasons, the turtle’s health began to decline a few months ago and died July 28.
Texas river cooters are fairly large turtles, growing to about 12 inches in carapace length. They can be found in large river systems with clear flowing water with gravel and cobblestone bottoms. They feed on primarily on plant-based matter.
John B. Virata keeps a ball python, two corn snakes, a kingsnake, and two leopard geckos. His first snake, a California kingsnake, was purchased at the Pet Place in Westminster, CA for $5. Follow him on Twitter @johnvirata
