Reptile expert Brian Barczyk filmed the venomous snake, named Ben and Jerry, in two minutes and his video has since gone viral.
He shared it with his fans on Instagram and said: “So my two headed snake Ben and Jerry are together right now. They don’t actually always eat at the same time, in this case they are both together on each side.”
The brown and yellow snake is seen moving slowly across the ice, but as it only has one digestive system, some viewers wondered if it would choke on its food.
One loyal fan commented: “If you look at his blog, he mentions that one of them, Jerry I think, doesn’t eat unless Ben is already asleep and generally Ben does all the work but he also tried to get Jerry intoxicated.”
Another wrote: “That’s crazy! I can’t wait to go back to Michigan and see the place!” A third asked: “Can someone explain how a two-headed snake comes out? How does this happen?”
The snake has a disease called ʙɪᴄᴇᴘʜᴀʟʏ, which is caused by the incomplete division of an embryo. Interestingly, Ben and Jerry are among an estimated 10,000 snakes that suffer from this disease.
Most snakes with this condition don’t survive for long, but Ben and Jerry seem to be an exception. Barczyk explained that “99.9% of two-headed animals never see their first day, but once they reach adulthood, which is the case for Ben and Jerry, they usually live full lives.”
Barczyk said he expects the animal to live between 20 and 25 years, explaining that they can eat separately but share the same digestive system.
Barczyk, who works at a reptile zoo in Michigan, reportedly bought the snake from a friend. “I had to chase him for half a year until he sold it,” Barczyk said.
“We have about 10 unique animals [at the Reptariu], including Ben and Jerry, also a two-headed turtle and several one-of-a-kind colorful turtles.”