An extremely rare two-headed snake has been born in a pet shop in the U.K.
The Western hognose snake hatched in the unusual-pet store Exeter Exotics, according to a July 19 Facebook post by the shop in Exeter, a city in southwestern England.
"It hatched on its own & has already shed its skin unaided. There appears to be no kinks in the body, just the very tip of the tail is curled. It seems to have no issues with movement either," the shop wrote in the Facebook post. "Both sad & fascinating at the same time. All we can do is see how the little one goes, see how feeding goes & wish for the best."
Two-headed snakes are extremely rare, but it has been observed multiple times. The phenomenon happens when the embryo begins to split, but not all the way. This causes the reptile to develop two heads that are independent of each other, but attached to the same body. It could also be due to aggregation mating, which occurs when two sperm hit an egg at the same time.
Two-headed snakes do not usually live for long, especially if they are in the wild. This is because it is a lot harder for them to digest food effectively, leading their organs to become stressed. Those being looked after in captivity may live longer, however.
Shop owner Alicia Johns told the BBC that the shop would have to reevaluate the situation if they felt the snake was deteriorating or becoming uncomfortable.
The pet shop has been keeping followers updated as to the snake's progress.
And so far, the creature is doing well, a Facebook post on August 9 said.
"We have had so many people ask how the Two Headed Western Hognose is doing & we are happy to report that so far it appears to be doing well," the shop owner wrote in the update.
"The right hand side head prefers sardine scented pinky heads & will take it from you himself if held up to him. The left hand head is interested in food but we think the throat may be a little narrower for that head as it seemed to struggle when offered food before. Hopefully this improves with time as the snake grows... possibly just having to have smaller food items," Johns added.
While the right head is eating, the shop owner noticed that the left head makes a chewing motion with its mouth.
"Fingers crossed they continue to do well & we will keep you updated," the post read.
Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about two-headed snakes? Let us know via nature@newsweek.com.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
");jQuery(this).remove()}) jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on('changed.owl.carousel',function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled')} if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled')}})}})})ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrK6enZtjsLC5jquYq51dqcSweceemJ2dlGLAr63KnmSbp6KjerGx02aqoaegYn55fo9xaGo%3D