In the world of wildlife, there are many shocking creatures that amaze the imagination and even make you shudder. We suggest finding out if there are two-headed snakes, and if so, what is the reason for their appearance. Research and finds have proven - yes, such unusual reptiles really exist. History knows a few case studies.

general characteristics

Two-headed snakes are quite rare, so catching one of them is a real success. In addition, they do not have a long life, often dying in the very first days. The reasons for their appearance by researchers have not yet been established, but suggest that the main one is a genetic mutation against a background of poor environmental background. In addition, such "monsters" can appear for a completely natural reason - identical twins at an early stage of development were not completely divided. This happens in warm-blooded animals, and even in humans.

Features

Not so many snakes with two heads fell into the hands of scientists, but, nevertheless, they managed to identify some features of these unusual reptiles.

• If biceps is the result of a genetic mutation, then a single digestive system is inherent in reptiles. If such snakes appeared as a result of the incomplete separation of the twins, then each of the heads has its own digestive system.
• The heads do not differ in friendliness towards each other and during feeding strive to take away food from the "neighbor". If the animal was kept in laboratory conditions, people put a special partition so that their heads can be saturated easily.

Another problem with a two-headed snake is the difficulty in determining the direction of movement. The heads are united by a single body, but they can’t “agree” among themselves on which way to crawl. This feature deprives the reptile of dynamism, so it is more likely than its usual counterparts to become a victim of predators.

Real animals

Here are examples of real-life two-headed snakes that fell into the hands of scientists:

• German albino - a reptile that traveled the world and even visited the Yalta Zoo.
• The Ussuri two-headed snake, which was caught in 1970 and for some time was a resident of a corner of nature at the school.
• Honduran dairy snake, born in Florida, USA. Researchers consider her the most beautiful of such bizarre creations of nature. Her name is Medusa, was born in 2011 and, according to the latest data, is still alive. Photo Medusa and its bright color can be seen below.

These are by no means all examples of unusual animals, since very few of them reach researchers. most of dies in nature in the first days after birth. The fact is that the heads enthusiastically "fight" with each other for the right to control the body, and do not get their own food.

Amphisbaena

Perhaps two-headed snakes in nature and gave rise to all kinds of legends about mythical creatures. So, in ancient Greece, there was a mysterious monster Amphisbane, whose second head was located on its own tail. She could move in any direction - for this she placed the “tail” head in her mouth and, taking the form of a ring, rolled over.

Different amphisben high temperature bodies - snow melted under her "steps", in addition, the mythical monster was also poisonous.

we

One of the most famous two-headed snakes is the rat snake We, who lived in captivity for about 8 years. This snake has long been the main attraction of St. Lewis, the city's aquarium. At one time, the snake was purchased from a breeder for 15 thousand dollars, but thanks to the millions of tourists who were eager to take a sensational photo with a curiosity, We quickly paid back its cost. Children especially loved the snake - the reptile made an indelible impression on them.

Snake We were a hermaphrodite, that is, in her body there were female and male genital organs. Aquarium staff tried to mate it with another two-headed snake, but did not succeed. After death from a corpse We made a scarecrow.

Having become acquainted with the characteristics of snakes with two heads, we learn some interesting facts about these creatures of nature:

• Unusual mutation is characteristic of reptiles to a greater extent than any other living creatures. Most often, two-headed water snakes appear, but there were exceptions. So, we managed to catch even an unusual cobra.
• Reptiles have two brains that function completely independently, but only one body. One of the goals becomes dominant, the second is most often passive. If both begin to "show character", then it is very difficult for them.
• Two-headed albino appears one in a million individuals.
• The Medusa snake has its own account in social networkdriven by its owners.

These are unusual creatures of the fauna, two-headed reptiles - frightening, but very peculiar.

An unusual snake was born in central Florida - it has two heads, which is very rare. According to Daniel Parker, a biologist at the University of Central Florida, a few months ago a Honduran dairy snake laid eggs. When the specialist went to check the incubator, a big surprise awaited him. “I could not believe my eyes,” Parker shares his impressions.

According to him, usually two-headed snakes have a different color. Thus, a two-headed albino snake is an even greater rarity. “Perhaps this is the most beautiful two-headed snake ever existing,” the biologist admires.

Albino snakes do not have dark pigmentation on their skin, and shades of red, orange and white are especially pronounced. “Two-headed snakes live in captivity for up to 20 years,” Parker notes. - Considering that two independent brains give commands to one body, life turns out to be rather bizarre. Of course, such a snake could not survive in the wild. "

This summer, the Yalta Zoo has acquired an unusual snake with two heads. The miraculous reptile was brought from abroad. According to the director of the zoo Oleg Zubkov, the two-headed snake, which is born one in a million individuals, settled in the Yalta zoo only during the tourist season. Menagerie rented a reptile from the Germans. Note that the last time a similar instance was shown in Switzerland 20 years ago. "An interesting, unique animal: two heads, two brains, one belly. One head is dominant, the other is more passive. They eat at the same time. During feeding, they put a plastic spatula between the heads so that they do not eat one another," said the director of the zoo. By the way, the insurance cost of a snake is 50 thousand euros.

Recall that in the spring of 2011, a cat named Luntia with five ears settled down at a Voronezh scientist. Vladimir Obryvkov, associate professor of the Department of Anatomy, General Biology and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Voronezh State Agro-University, has been studying the physical anomalies of animals for many years. From local villages and surrounding regions, live exhibits worthy of the Kunstkamera - a calf with two heads, tails, two hearts, a lamb - cyclops, chickens with four legs, Siamese twins - piglets, a pig with a trunk, a foal with two noses and three eyes are brought to him.

Last summer, friends told Obryvkov about an unusual kitten that lives in Voronezh under pipes near the dining room in the area of \u200b\u200bWork Avenue. The scientist, who never had cats, decided to take her to his place - for science and to the delight of his nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter. “Her two main auricles are normal, the additional auricles are mirrored, rotated 180 degrees,” says Scraps. His cat has unusually large paws, which is called acromegaly, on the cheekbones - skin earrings, and on the lower eyelids - islets of wool in the form of pompoms. According to the scientist, there are only two such individuals throughout Russia.

In the old, well-known proverb says that one head is good, and two is better. However, what if these words are interpreted literally: what will promise two heads to one owner? Two-headed snakes, which are relatively often born as a result of mutations or deviations in the early stages of embryo development, know this firsthand.

Similar mutations in snakes are found hundreds, thousands of times more often than other reptile suborders and millions of times more often than other animals. It is believed that most often double-headed cubs appear in water snakes - about 1 out of 1000. But they do not live long, in nature for no more than a week, a maximum of a few. Which, in principle, is not surprising - a snake whose heads cannot decide which way to crawl and are constantly at odds with each other, not only unable to hunt, but is also a very simple prey for predators.

In captivity and with special care, snakes with two heads can live long enough. For example, to prevent their heads from fighting for food or, even worse, not trying to kill each other in zoos, they use a rather simple but quite effective method - they install an opaque partition during a meal, only in this way both heads can eat easily.

Two-headed rat snake named V

By the way, in most cases (genetic mutations) it is not necessary for both heads to do this, the digestive system is common. So, as a rule, this happens, a more active head sets the tone in the direction of movement and, accordingly, food extraction, passive - acts as an involuntary companion. Two-headed monsters that were born as a result of the incomplete separation of identical twins in the early stages of their development often have separate digestive systems, hearts and some other organs. It is even more difficult for them, they are essentially two beings in one body.

The double-headed albino snake, which was demonstrated at the Yalta Zoo a year ago

Another difficulty these mutants have to deal with is the sexual aspect. The genitals of a snake are either male or female, there is no third way, but with heads it’s more complicated: they can be of different sexes. So it was with a two-headed rat snake named Vee, which was kept in a Berlin zoo, one of her heads and genitals is female, and the second is a man.

In 2011, an unusual snake was born in central Florida - it has two heads, which is very rare. According to Daniel Parker, a biologist at the University of Central Florida, a few months ago a Honduran dairy snake laid eggs. When the specialist went to check the incubator, a big surprise awaited him. “I could not believe my eyes,” Parker shares his impressions.

According to him, usually two-headed snakes have a different color. Thus, the two-headed albino snake is even more rare, Globalist notes. “Perhaps this is the most beautiful two-headed snake ever existing,” the biologist admires.

Albino snakes do not have dark pigmentation on their skin, and shades of red, orange and white are especially pronounced. “Two-headed snakes live in captivity for up to 20 years,” Parker notes. - Considering that two independent brains give commands to one body, life turns out to be rather bizarre. Of course, such a snake could not survive in the wild. "

Last summer, the Yalta Zoo acquired an unusual snake with two heads. The miraculous reptile was brought from abroad. According to the UNIAN correspondent, the director of the zoo Oleg Zubkov, the two-headed snake, which is born one in a million individuals, settled in the Yalta zoo only during the tourist season.

Menagerie rented a reptile from the Germans. Note that the last time a similar instance was shown in Switzerland 20 years ago. “An interesting, unique animal: two heads, two brains, one belly. One head is dominant, the other is more passive. Eat at the same time. During feeding, they put a plastic spatula between their heads so that they do not eat one another, ”said the director of the zoo. By the way, the insurance cost of a snake is 50 thousand euros, according to Ukrainian News.

Interestingly, royal snakes usually prey on other reptiles, and therefore there are fears that one of the heads of a living “dragon” might eat another. Therefore, in the zoo every head is carefully monitored and well fed.

To show tourists and residents of the Crimea a snake with two heads of the zoo, the Kiev company Bion Terrarium Center, engaged in breeding and import-export of exotic animals, was brought into cooperation. The company collaborates with centers, zoos and experts around the world.

An unusual animal - a two-headed python - was discovered by journalists in southern Germany. According to British media, royal python lives in Villingen-Schwenningen.

According to its owner, Stefan Broghammer, the two-headed python turned 1 year old, the length of the snake is about 0.5 meters. S. Broghammer claims that his pet is one of two snakes in the world with two heads.

The royal python, also called the spherical python or the ball python, is a non-poisonous snake from the genus of real pythons, common in Africa. This is one of the most popular captive snakes.

But on the Internet, photos of two-headed snakes are not so small ...

An unusual snake was born in central Florida - it has two heads, which is very rare. According to Daniel Parker, a biologist at the University of Central Florida, a few months ago a Honduran dairy snake laid eggs. When the specialist went to check the incubator, a big surprise awaited him. “I could not believe my eyes,” Parker shares his impressions.

According to him, usually two-headed snakes have a different color. Thus, the two-headed albino snake is even more rare, Globalist notes. “Perhaps this is the most beautiful two-headed snake ever existing,” the biologist admires.

Albino snakes do not have dark pigmentation on their skin, and shades of red, orange and white are especially pronounced. “Two-headed snakes live in captivity for up to 20 years,” Parker notes. - Considering that two independent brains give commands to one body, life turns out to be rather bizarre. Of course, such a snake could not survive in the wild. "

This summer, the Yalta Zoo has acquired an unusual snake with two heads. The miraculous reptile was brought from abroad. According to the UNIAN correspondent, the director of the zoo Oleg Zubkov, the two-headed snake, which is born one in a million individuals, settled in the Yalta zoo only during the tourist season. Menagerie rented a reptile from the Germans. Note that the last time a similar instance was shown in Switzerland 20 years ago. “An interesting, unique animal: two heads, two brains, one belly. One head is dominant, the other is more passive. Eat at the same time. During feeding, they put a plastic spatula between their heads so that they do not eat one another, ”said the director of the zoo. By the way, the insurance cost of a snake is 50 thousand euros, according to Ukrainian News.
Recall that in the spring of 2011, a cat named Luntia with five ears settled down at a Voronezh scientist. Vladimir Obryvkov, associate professor of the Department of Anatomy, General Biology and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Voronezh State Agro-University, has been studying the physical anomalies of animals for many years. Live exhibits worthy of the Kunstkamera - a calf with two heads, tails, two hearts, a lamb - cyclops, chickens with four legs, Siamese twins - piglets, a pig with a trunk, a foal with two noses and three eyes, are brought to him from local villages and neighboring regions.
In the late summer, acquaintances told Obryvkov about an unusual kitten that lives in Voronezh under pipes near a canteen in the area of \u200b\u200bWork Avenue. The scientist, who never had cats, decided to take her to his place - for science and to the delight of his nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter. “Her two main auricles are normal, the additional auricles are mirrored, rotated 180 degrees,” says Obryvkov. His cat has unusually large paws, which is called acromegaly, on the cheekbones - skin earrings, and on the lower eyelids - islets of wool in the form of pompoms, they write "Lipetsk regional news." According to the scientist, there are only two such individuals throughout Russia.