All Good News

Woman Finds Two-Headed Snake In Her Garden

September 22, 2018

A woman tending to her garden in northern Virginia found an extremely rare creature in one of her flower beds: a two-headed copperhead snake!

Credit: JD Kleopfer / Facebook

Wild bicephalic snakes are exceptionally rare because they just don't live that long. They face too many challenges living day to day with two heads.

J.D. Kleopfer, a reptiles and amphibians specialist for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said the snake is currently being cared for by an experienced viper keeper after it was examined at the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

"It appears as though the left head is more dominant – it's generally more active and responsive to stimulus," a spokesperson for the veterinary hospital said. "Radiographs revealed that the two-headed snake has two tracheas [the left one is more developed], two esophaguses [the right one is more developed], and the two heads share one heart and one set of lungs. Based on the anatomy, it would be better for the right head to eat, but it may be a challenge since the left head appears more dominant."

With a little luck and care, they hope to eventually bring the snake to a zoo for exhibit.

Watch the video below.