just born...2 headed California Kingsnake

I just opened up the incubator to look at the rest of the remianing 7 Cali king eggs. One had already hatched. As I peered in, I noticed what appeared to be the head of a dead-looking baby, poking out of the egg. The snake wasn't breathing so I went forward and opened the egg to find this:

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...headedCALI.JPG

:eek:

The photo was taken while the dead snake was on a blank sheet of paper.

Genetic oddities are always interesting it is too bad it didn't survive. :(

aww...that's sad.

:(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

Genetic oddities are always interesting it is too bad it didn't survive. :(

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Yeah...and what makes it worse is that not only is this my first clutch, but also the feeling that I could have prevented this in some way. At the realization that he died while poking through, I felt really bad. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by _BoidFinatic_

Yeah...and what makes it worse is that not only is this my first clutch, but also the feeling that I could have prevented this in some way. At the realization that he died while poking through, I felt really bad. :(

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Don't let it get you down too much. Although many abnormalities will go full term, it's unusual for them to survive very long after they hatch. It probably has something to do with them receiving nourishment from their yolk instead of relying on their organs to survive. :confused:

I'll second what Lawrence said. Don't let it get you down. I had an animal, not 2 headed, last year that was similar to that snake. Went full term, and even came half way out of the egg last year. After it died before fully emerging, my wife cut the egg and pulled out a fused belly and severly kinked tail portion, animal. It is sad, but it does happen. We can only hope to see something once in our lifetime with our collections. I hope you never have to experience that again.

Sincerely,

wow, thats insane.
Too bad it died.

Unbelieveable! This morning I check on the rest of the 4 remaining eggs in the incubator. 2 more had hatched and were normal, which left 1 pipped egg and one egg with 2 heads poking out again. Boy....was this wierd. So a few hours later I check on it and again, I find a dead 2 headed cali king halfway out of the egg. :O :O What is going on here? 2 - 2 headed calis in from the same 8-egg clutch? Here's a pic of today's freak:


https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...headedCALI.bmp

Definitely a strange one. I think this is one that needs further investigation. As you say, two-two headed Cali Kings from the same clutch, why that nearly defies belief. Keep us updated on any other oddities you come across, if any!

Also what makes this great is that you still have the same breeding pair of california Kingsnakes. I bet you cant wait until next season and see what
happens next time around. LOL. :rockon: