Reptile expert Brian Barczyk filmed the ᴍᴜᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ serpent, named Ben and Jerry, ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ two mice and hish video has since gone viral.
He shared it to his fans on Instagram, saying: “So my two-headed snake Ben and Jerry are both ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ right now. They don’t always eat at the same time actually, in this case both of them are ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ each side.”
The brown and yellow snake is seen sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ the 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 mice slowly but, as it only has one digestive system, some viewers asked if it would choke on the food.
One loyal fan commented: “If you watch his vlog he mentions one of them, Jerry I think, won’t take food unless Ben is already ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ and for the most part Ben does all the ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ but he tried to get Jerry involved too.”
Another wrote: “That is crazy! Can’t wait to go back to Michigan and check out the place!” A third asked: “Somebody mind explaining how does a two-headed snake come about…how does this ᴍᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ even happen?”
The snake has a condition called ʙɪᴄᴇᴘʜᴀʟʏ, and it occurs from the incomplete splitting of an embryo. Interestingly, Ben and Jerry, are one of only an estimated 10,000 snakes with the condition.
Most snakes with this condition do not sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ for very ʟᴏɴɢ, but Ben and Jerry appear to be an exception. Barczyk explained that ‘99.9% of two-headed animals never see their first 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day, but once they sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ to adulthood, which Ben and Jerry are, they usually live a full life.
Barczyk says that he expects the animal to live between 20 and 25 years, and explained that they can eat separately but share the same digestive system.
Apparently Barczyk, who works at a reptile zoo in Michigan in the US, bought the snake from a friend. “I had to beg him for half a year until he sold me,” Barczyk said.
“We have about 10 one-of-a-kind animals [in the Reptarium] including Ben and Jerry, also a two headed turtle, and several one-of-a-kind ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ and other colour ᴍᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴs.”
