Quote Originally Posted by Traceur View Post
I've seen stuff here and there about snakes having two heads. How does that even genetically happen? Is it almost like other animals having two heads? The embryos just don't separate correctly?

Also, following up on the money for exotic pets, imagine how difficult it might be to get a license to own them. An exotic vet will probably be more on your bill, without a doubt
Well, there are "Siamese twins" in humans too...supposed to be 2 but the process got messed up...very hard for 2 headed snakes to survive, especially in the wild.
Can you imagine the trouble they'd have shedding properly? And if both want to eat the same prey item? Yikes!

States vary in costs & requirements to keep hots, but no matter where you are, finding vet help for a hot is no easy matter...& then, IF you can afford it.

Vets have a lot invested in their education...few want to risk their lives & careers working with hots when there's plenty of easier (safer) money to be made with
just "normal" (non-venomous) pets. Zoos have vets working with their animals of course, so they do exist...and some of them get injured doing their job. I knew
a good vet in Calif. years back who had her own clinic but also worked with a local zoological park...she got bit by a rattlesnake while trying to treat it...she thought
her grip was firm enough, but it was able to turn it's head just a little & inject with one fang...she thought for a while that she'd lose her arm...it swelled up like
Popeye's on spinach... and then, when she was back to work but not quite 100%, she almost cut off one of her own fingers doing surgery because she didn't
have all the feeling back yet. In time, she was fine, all back to normal- she was lucky! but you can understand why most vets would NOT choose this line of work?