The footage of the two-headed California Kingsnake – named Ben and Jerry – was filmed by Brian Barczyk, and has quickly gone viral. The snake has a condition called bicephaly, and it occurs from the incomplete splitting of an embryo. Interestingly, Ben and Jerry, are one of only an estimated 10,000 snakes with the condition.
Most snakes with this condition do not survive for very long, but Ben and Jerry appear to be an exception. Barczyk explained that ‘99.9% of two-headed animals never see their first birthday, but once they survive to adulthood, which Ben and Jerry are, they usually live a full life’.
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Barczyk says that he expects the animal to live between 20 and 25 years, and explained that they can eat separately but share the same digestive system.
In response to the video, many have wondered how the animal exists and whether it was ethical to feed them at the same time. However, the owner appears to be an expert in the area of reptiles.
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The enthusiast, who works at a reptile zoo in Michigan in the US, told the Daily Mail that he had to convince a friend to sell him Ben and Jerry. Barczyk noted, ‘It is a freak of nature and totally unexpected. It took me 1 1/2 years of begging before he sold them to me.’
Barczyk said that the zoo he works for, called ‘The Reptarium’, has ‘about 10 one-of-a-kind animals including Ben and Jerry, also a two-headed turtle, and several one-of-a-kind albino and other colour mutations’. He added, ‘We also have albino alligators and a rare all-black alligator. Their names are Salt and Pepper.’
Outside of captivity, two-headed snakes have also been spotted. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) shared images last October of a rare two-headed southern black racer found by Kay Rogers and their family.
The FWC explained, ‘Both head’s tongue flick and react to movement, but not always in the same way,’ before adding, ‘Two-headed snakes are unlikely to survive in the wild as the two brains make different decisions.’