Extremely rare two-headed copperhead snake found in Virginia

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Credit: JD Kleopfer/Facebook

An unnamed Northern Virginia resident found a venomous two-headed copperhead snake (Agkistrodon contortrix). Experts said that it's an incredibly rare find.

 

The unnamed person who found the snake, contacted the Virginia Herpetological Society for identification. A state herpetologist picked it up to study.

 

Radiographs revealed that the two-headed snake has two tracheas, two esophaguses, and the two heads share one heart and one set of lungs. According to the Wildlife Center in Virginia, it would be better for the right head to eat, but it may be a challenge since the left head appears more dominant.

J.D. Kleopfer of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said that "wild bicephalic snakes are exceptionally rare, because they just don’t live that long. Too many challenges living day to day with two heads".

The snake is currently being cared for by an experienced viper keeper. If it survives, one day it will be donated to a zoo for an educational exhibit.

 

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