2 headed ball python eating

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Originally Posted by CeeJay

How do both heads not fight over food? If you are feeding one, wouldn't the other sense the food as well? Strange.

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Thats what i was thinking...

I wouldnt kill it straight out of the egg. If it thrives and grows and is in no visible pain.

Do you think you will get an x-ray of it done so that you can see if it had two stomachs ? and other organs? Im wondering if the left side feeds and the right side doesnt.. Once the food hits the stomach does the brain tell the right side that its full?

WOW lots of interesting questions..

Just curious if you will get some more information on it.

Please keep us posted on its progress..

I would be more concerned that one head's esophagus might not even lead to a stomach. One head or the other might be able to eat more safely depending on its anatomy. There is no doubt that these two share a circulatory system, so if one eats, both of them will be fine. They will both have nutrition running through their systems, regardless of which stomach (if there is more than one) it came from, or which head the food came through.

I will have x-ray done as son as possible.
the left esofagus leads to the stomach for sure, I'm not sure yet about the right one.

about food competition, it would be more possible if it was a kingsnake or a cornsnake, but ball pythons are shy and even a small movement or whatever inhibits them.

Once you have discovered that feeding the left head is successful, do not attempt to feed the right head. Just keep on feeding the left head the entire life.

Chances are, there is only one stomach, and one esophagus leads to nothing.. which is often the case with Siamese twin animals. If they don't share organs, you won't be depriving them by feeding only one head, because they must share a circulatory system to an extent.

Don't risk it by feeding the other head if one is successful.

Removing one of the heads is very difficult because of the spinal cord issues in this case. The surgery would have a very low success rate, and would be very expensive and difficult to find a vet that would preform it in the first place.

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Originally Posted by Oxylepy

:( I think I would have killed that snake right out of the egg. But since you're keeping it, good luck caring for it and hopefully it grows up healthy for you.

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why would you have killed it?? would you kill say a deformed child?? if the wee thing can eat poo and shed why should it not be given a chance at life. folk like you that come out with things like that have no respect for any type of life.
good luck, i hope the wee guy makes it. i do know of a king snake with two heads that lived till well past two.

Always interesting to see what nature can do...hope he does well:)

Kill it? No way--that thing is beautiful. We breed ball pythons for mutations why would you want that thing put down. I agree--if an animal is born so deformed that it cannot move or function that euthanizing is the correct way to go, but to be completely honest--I would LOVE to have that snake and it has tremendous value if it lives. I have an albino ball python that was born with no eyes. She hatched last year from a clutch of albinos that I suspect the eggs got too hot after laying. The entire clutch was bad aside from no eyes. She looked perfect aside from having no eyes or openings for eyes moved and drank fine. I could not bring myself to put her down so we kept her as a pet. She has been doing fine for a year and eats and defecates and is actually quite interesting to watch move around.

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Originally Posted by covah

why would you have killed it?? would you kill say a deformed child??

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Lord yes. I hate that so many people sit around collecting money off the government so they can afford to take care of their horridly deformed child who shouldnt have lived past birth.

Hi,

does the snake have two kinks on the back? Or does it just look like?

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Originally Posted by Quality_Snakes

yes, as I said the dad is a pied and the mum is a 66% het pied that didn't prove out yet.
I also got regular twins form this clutch but one of them didn't make it...

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Do you mean by twins 2 in one egg? If yes, I wouldnt ever bred again with parents who produce twins in one egg, one of these dying, and the other egg has a 2-headed snake!

I've never seen a double-headed ball python before! That's amazing! I hope it continues doing well for you!