The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Herpetology Lab was lucky enough to find a very special two-headed snake.
This newborn two-headed striped snake was discovered by a neighbor while clearing weeds near his lab. “I took a log and I wasn’t too surprised to see two little snakes, but then I realized they weren’t getting very far because they were two heads,” he said.
Once Marshall realized it was a two-headed snake, he placed it in a jar and contacted a local conservationist. The call led him to Dennis Ferraro, a practical assistant professor of herpetology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who was doing fieldwork at the station near Cedar Point. Ferraro managed to retrieve the snake the next day. According to Ferraro, the snake is so rare that only one in 100,000 is born.
It has two necks, which means that neither will become dominant.
Ferraro said this is only the second time he has had a two-headed snake in his lab, which he has managed for more than 20 years. What makes this snake even more unique is that the split heads extend beyond the necks.
“Usually when snakes have two heads, one of them takes over,” Ferraro said. “This one has two necks, which means neither of them will become dominant. The two heads work independently and eat independently. That would have made it difficult for them to survive in the wild.”
There is also at least an inch of backbone connected to each head, before merging into one. Although the newborn is still too small for X-rays, Ferraro plans to take care of her until she is old enough for more advanced testing.
According to Ferraro, genetic mutations are common in water snakes, which probably caused this phenomenon. The researcher is interested in finding out how his neurology works, how he survived for so long and whether he can survive with both heads.
Ferraro has spent decades pursuing his passion for wildlife conservation in Nebraska. He spends his time traveling and studying species and contributing to conservation efforts, educating the state’s residents about animals, especially those that people tend to fear. His laboratory houses a pair of all the amphibians, turtles and reptiles native to Nebraska.