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Sometimes mother nature surprises us, and blesses us with an animal that is more unique than normal. Included in those unique animals are reptiles that happened to be born with two heads, and that’s what our list is focusing on today. Two headed reptiles normal don’t live as long as their “normal” counterparts, so while they shouldn’t be something that is wished for, they are unique nonetheless. So keep scrolling to see some two headed reptiles and any information we managed to find on them!
Top 10 List – Two Headed Reptiles
1. Two Headed Bobtail Lizard
In 2010 this two headed bobtail lizard, or shingleback skink was discovered in Australia. An interesting thing about this lizard however, is that apparently the two heads greatly dislike each other. The bigger head often tries to attack the smaller one. Both heads are able to eat, and control the back legs which can make moving cohesively hard for the lizard.
2. Two Headed Bearded Dragon
The second animal on our list of two headed reptiles is this leatherback bearded dragon with two heads. The breeder that produced this dragon originally thought that the egg contained twins as he only saw the heads poke out at first. But once they fully emerged he realized they actually shared one body. According to the breeder they hatched on their own, and both heads are able to move and function properly. This little one is definitely a rare sight!
3. Two Headed Eastern Copperhead Snake
On September 20th, 2018 the wildlife center of Virginia received an Eastern Copperhead snake with two heads! The center then examined the baby snake and did some scans. According to the Wildlife Center this is what they found:
“It appears as though the left head is more dominant – it’s generally more active and responsive to stimulus. Radiographs revealed that the two-headed snake has two tracheas [the left one is more developed], two esophaguses [the right one is more developed], and the two heads share one heart and one set of lungs. Based on the anatomy, it would be better for the right head to eat, but it may be a challenge since the left head appears more dominant. ”
4. Two Headed Western Ratsnake
In the summer of 2018 Wildlife educator Tanee Janusz, took in the western rat snake pictured above when a fellow member of her naturalist society found it slithering around his garden in Louisiana. Tanee has been a wildlife educator for more than 20 years, and therefor was the perfect person to rescue this two headed snake, who probably would not have survived had it been left in the wild.
Each of the snake’s heads have been named, Filé and Gumbo, and she often refers to them as “the twins”. Gumbo tends to be more dominate than the other snake, however neither side has a problem trying to wrestle the other when they don’t get to go the way they wanted to.
5. Two Headed Texas Cooter
This female texas cooter was born in the San Antonio Zoo on June 18th, 2013. The Zoo named the pair Thelma and Louise, after the movie of the same name. Unfortunately The pair passed away unexpectedly in 2014, however the year they had on earth was spent swimming, exploring, and eating lot’s of healthy, yummy food.
6. Two Headed Timber Rattlesnake
In late 2017 the timber rattlesnake above was discovered in Arkansas by Rodney Kelso. The snake eventually ended up at the biology department at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, where it was nicknamed “Deuce.” The snake was only around 11 inches when found, which meant the snake was fairly young, probably only a few weeks or so. Unfortunately, as is the case with many of these animals, the snake did pass on fairly quickly. However, it received great care during it’s short time in captivity.
7. Two Headed Corn Snake
This two headed gold dust motley corn snake belonged to Darcie Stiller and Amber Quiring, and spends her time at their Reptile Room shop. I was unable to find an update on Medusa, however in late 2017 Medusa was two years old, and had made it exceptionally far as far as two headed snakes goes. She was smaller than normal, and moved around in a bobbing motion. Due to the fact that she is unable to fully open her jaw, she was having to be fed smaller food, but was a very happy snake who was well looked after.
8. Two Headed California King Snake
Tom and Jerry is a two headed California king snake, and was a star attraction at the Reptile Expo in Villeneuve, Switzerland. Despite the odds Tom and Jerry have made it to an astounding 17 years old, and was able to go on tour from late 2018 to early 2019.
9. Two Headed Crocodile
In late June, 2001, this baby crocodile was found on a crocodile farm on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. Not only does this little baby have two heads, it also as two sets of (almost) everything and only shares the bottom part of their body. It was measured at 6.7 inches in length, and 2.5 ounces. Due to where the animal is connected at the body, this crocodile probably would have had a lot of issues in it’s life.
10. Two Headed Common Snapping Turtle
Not much info could be found on this particular turtle, except that it sold for $4,995.00 on the website The Turtle Source. This turtle is absolutely amazing as it’s heads are completely separated, with each having their own neck. We hope this turtle is still out their living an awesome life!
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