Snakes are not really creatures that would get people excited.
Quite the opposite, in fact. But a rare two-headed snake that was found in a forest in New Jersey stirred some excitement among scientists and even nicknamed it “Double Dave.”
Environmentalists from the Herpetological Associates group found the baby timber rattlesnake. The group studies endangered and threatened reptiles and it was probably fitting that it was they who made the discovery.
Watch the video of Double Dave below.
[rumble video_id=v5k9gb domain_id=u7nb2]
Video credit: Rumble
The nickname “Double Dave” is in reference to the pair of environmentalists who discovered the snake who are both named Dave. The pit viper is venomous and this one is 20-25 cm. (8-10 inches) long. It has two fully formed heads which are sure to unsettle those who are freaked out with even one head.
Dave Schneider (one of those who made the discovery) explained that Double Dave’s pair of heads were independent of each other, making it difficult for it to survive in the wild. This is because it will be slow-moving and easy prey.
It’s more common for two-headed snakes to have one head that is more developed than the other. There have also been cases when the heads fought each other for food, meaning that they don’t realize that they share the same digestive system.
The technical term for double heads is polycephaly and its formation follows the same route as that of conjoined twins: for whatever reason, the process whereby the embryo splits into identical twins halts midway.
Many cultures see two-headed animals as portents of disaster. They are quite rare with only 1-in-100,000 live births in the wild. Two-headed snakes do seem to be making more of an appearance lately, though. The Bali resort of Tabanan made the news when a two-headed snake was discovered there.
A two-headed snake named Tom and Jerry even went on tour in 2018. The 17-year-old California kingsnake was one of the main attractions at the Reptile Expo in Villeneuve, Switzerland.
It’s not easy keeping two-headed snakes alive. Viral photos emerged showing a two-headed eastern copperhead discovered in Woodbridge, Virginia. Viper breeder Cooper Sallade looked after it and told Wired magazine: “Since the snake had such an incomprehensible amount of media attention, there was a lot of pressure on me to keep that thing alive.”
Cooper had to gently force-feed it because the heads were not fully developed enough to eat on their own. Despite his efforts, it died a few months later.
Herpetological Associates will keep Double Dave in captivity due to the snake’s slim chances of surviving in the wild. “We’ll take care of it,” Schneider promised.
Replaced!