2 headed ball python eating

from pied X 66% poss het pied breeding.
this little boy was a total surprise!
he's doing well so far and today he had his first shed and first meal..... well ....at least his left head... LOL

YouTube - 2 headed ball python eating

Oh my god! That is ridiculously amazing... I've never seen a 2-headed BP before, just colubrids/venomous. I'm glad the snake is doing well.

woooowww!!!!!! :siamesetw

Did you pre kill the rat/mouse? did it strike? wondering if the left or right would fight for the food??

Was he captive bred?

This is really amazing! Both of the heads look really alert and healthy. Do you think you ever have to feed both heads? I would think as long as one eats it should be fine because they share a body.

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Originally Posted by ScubaDiver007

Did you pre kill the rat/mouse? did it strike? wondering if the left or right would fight for the food??

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I used a prekilled and helped him putting the head into the mouth. he started swollowing as soon as I put him back into the tub.
the other head was flickering the tongue, but wasn't interested at all.

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Originally Posted by hunter94

Was he captive bred?

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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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Originally Posted by Geckos-by-Pam

This is really amazing! Both of the heads look really alert and healthy. Do you think you ever have to feed both heads? I would think as long as one eats it should be fine because they share a body.

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feeding one head is enough!

Awww. I hope he grows healthy. Do you think the right one is still hungry? I wonder if they had any trouble feeding.

:( 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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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

Awww. I hope he grows healthy. Do you think the right one is still hungry? I wonder if they had any trouble feeding.

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only time will tell about him!
he's a FIRST.. hehehe

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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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I was thinking the same, but I just gave him a chance and he seems telling me... "I wanna live!!!"

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Originally Posted by Quality_Snakes

I was thinking the same, but I just gave him a chance and he seems telling me... "I wanna live!!!"

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Well if he is eating and thriving then you're lucky. Good luck :gj:

It would be a hard decision to make, to cull him or not, but I think I'd at least give him a chance.

After all, you see other animals with two heads that survive quite well.

Gale

wow thats the first 2 headed snake i've ever seen. i would have one of the heads surgically removed by a reptile veterinarian then continue on with feeding & caring for it. but thats just me. good luck with your snake.

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Originally Posted by Quality_Snakes

feeding one head is enough!

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I would be careful, I have a friend who hatched a two headed bearded dragon several years ago. One head ate fine and it even started growing and getting bigger. Then the other head ate and it was dead the next day.

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Originally Posted by mommanessy247

wow thats the first 2 headed snake i've ever seen. i would have one of the heads surgically removed by a reptile veterinarian then continue on with feeding & caring for it.

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Depending on how the heads are "configured," that could be way, WAY easier said than done. Human medicine has a difficult enough time separating many types of conjoined human twins, and they have the advantage of all kinds of life support systems, etc., that often aren't available for mammalian veterinary patients let alone compatible with reptiles. The surgery to separate conjoined twins can often be a 6+ hour job, involving multiple skilled surgeons. (In human patients ... Come to think of it I haven't heard of it ever being performed on a veterinary patient, though that certainly doesn't mean it's never been done.)

If it seems to be suffering in its current state, I think euthanasia would be a much more humane option than trying to put the poor thing through surgery.

BUT, it seems like it isn't having trouble swallowing or moving on its own ... And I know two-headed herps of other species have survived to live reasonably normal lives ... So to the OP, good luck to you and your critter! (Er ... Critters?)

I'd have a dang hard time not naming it Zaphod. :P

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Originally Posted by Serpent_Nirvana

Human medicine has a difficult enough time separating many types of conjoined human twins, and they have the advantage of all kinds of life support systems, etc., that often aren't available for mammalian veterinary patients let alone compatible with reptiles. The surgery to separate conjoined twins can often be a 6+ hour job, involving multiple skilled surgeons.

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it is considered the most difficult surgery :gj:

-with the lowest success rate

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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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!

That's incredible to see. I hope he beats the odds for you, and makes it!

Most conjoined snakes do not make it. USUALLY the problem is where the two necks meet, but there can also be other internal issues that aren't visible. As the snake grows, the kinking and deformation where the necks meet can become even worse, until food cannot pass through the area, and the animal chokes while feeding. I can see that little guy has considerable issues where his necks meet--the spines appear to run parallel for some distance.

To maximize his chances, always feed the dominant head, and supervise to make sure that the subordinate head never gets ahold of food.

Some 2-headed snakes do make it to adulthood, and if they do, they can live for many, many years.

Adult 2-headed snakes are really a wonder to see. Imagine what this guy would look like as an adult!

WOW.

But I think I'd call it "them" instead of "him"--the little guy on the right clearly looks like he's got his own ideas about that mouse. He must be surprised to feel full after not eating.

Good luck! I hope he/they make it!

i hope you dont plan on housing those two in the same enclosure...;)

that little guy is really cool and looks healthy enough. hope you continue to have luck with him for a long time.:gj:

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Originally Posted by Geckos-by-Pam

This is really amazing! Both of the heads look really alert and healthy. Do you think you ever have to feed both heads? I would think as long as one eats it should be fine because they share a body.

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I would have to , in my own opinion, agree.

I showed the vid to a friend whose kids are obsessed with two-headed snakes lately, and she asked if they're conjoined twins, and what their names were? (I saw "Giano"--can we name the right head "Giuseppe"?)

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Originally Posted by loonunit

I showed the vid to a friend whose kids are obsessed with two-headed snakes lately, and she asked if they're conjoined twins, and what their names were? (I saw "Giano"--can we name the right head "Giuseppe"?)

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I like that!!:D

Holy cow that's insane!!! Thanks for sharing! His other head looks hungry :( :rofl:

That's really amazing! :O:O Thanks for sharing them with us! Please keep us updated!!

ohhh wow! Does his right head have movement? Is it like 2 differant snakes?
That is soo amazing and so weird at the same time!

That is pretty amazing to see. I hope they can live a healthy long life. I feel like shedding would be a problem though with 2 heads. Like if one head is having a bit of trouble with shedding off his head will he be able to move the body to get it off or can he communicate with the other head to move lol

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Originally Posted by covah

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.

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Snakes are not humans.

fresh pic of hte guy(s)
you can see that both heads can move well
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...kes/giano2.jpg

Good luck with the little guy. I hope he does well for you. But, if you ever get a double bite on your hand, we must see pics... :gj:

That is amazing! So cool!

I hope they do well for you.

Such an amazing thing to see.

update :-)

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...s/X-ray1qs.jpg

Holy! They both have like two thirds of individual spine. Very cool, this one looks good! ~Caylan.s.~

WOW!! Thanks for the update on this guy. Can you also post some more video of it/them. The xray is amazing. Im thinking single internal organs? sharing one stomach? How many meals have you fed it since its first? did you try and feed the other side? how much does it weigh? Does it struggle to move around?

sorry for all the questions. Im sure i will think of more..

Scuba

Very cool and thanks for sharing. It looks thought from the picture that one head is slightly larger then the other is that the one that has been eating?

That is amazing! The right head looks a little jealous at the end there :P Both heads look very alert. That is a true marvel. I am glad "they" are doing well for you! Keep us posted, I am sure this is a story most of us want to follow! :gj: