Science Two-headed rattlesnake found in New Jersey

A rare two-headed rattlesnake - named Double Dave - has been found in a forest in the United States.
The baby timber rattlesnake was discovered in New Jersey's Pine Barrens last month by environmentalists from the Herpetological Associates group.

from Sky News

Two-headed rattlesnake, named 'Double Dave', found in New Jersey

Experts say it is the first two-headed timber rattlesnake ever found in the US state of New Jersey.

news.sky.com

The group, which is looking after the snake, has been studying endangered and threatened reptiles and amphibians since 1977.
Bob Zappalorti, chief executive of Herpetological Associates of Burlington County, said it was the first two-headed timber rattlesnake ever found in the US state of New Jersey.
Colleagues David Schneider and Dave Burkett - hence the nickname - stumbled across the days-old rattlesnake in a known nesting area in Burlington County.

They were not expecting to find one with two heads.

Image:It is the first two-headed timber rattlesnake ever found in New Jersey
"I was just blown away," Mr Schneider told NBC News.
While its mother was looking the other way, he picked up the newborn, which he said "looked healthy".
"The extra head is definitely going to be a burden on it" in the wild and make it hard to get away from predators or crawl into holes, he said.
He said the right side appeared to be the dominant, as both heads pulled in different directions at the same time.
"We're just keeping our fingers crossed and hoping this thing stays healthy and we can keep it for a while," he added.

 

[sasazuka]

I'd be more concerned about rattlesnakes migrating northeast than I am about any genetic abnormalities that may or may not have something to do with the pop culture stereotype of New Jersey being one giant radioactive toxic waste dump that produces mutants.

 

[Spl00gies]

-knock knock-
"Dave's not home."
-hisses in stereo-
"Oh wait, yes they are"

 

[Carnavoyeur]

I'm more surprised that there are rattlesnakes in New Jersey.

 

[Oh Long Johnson]

New Jersey has short bus death snakes?

Sounds about right.

 

[crocodilian]

I'm more surprised that there are rattlesnakes in New Jersey.

New Jersey gets way too cold for most of the year for rattlesnakes to survive. This is probably an escaped pet or something.

 

[SiccDicc]

Pretty sure this was in Revelations. Pretty sure.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Not enough people have died from rattlesnake venom in years, so nature's trying to double those chances. For science.

 

[sasazuka]

I'm more surprised that there are rattlesnakes in New Jersey.

Today I learned that the Timber Rattlesnake is native to the eastern United States. Yes, I too thought that rattlesnakes were only found in deserts.

 

[Ido]

He's adorable! Two headed snakes have always been a thing so I'm not surprised, I just hope he gets to live a long and happy life- in the wild they tend not to last long.

 

[FierceBrosnan]

He's adorable! Two headed snakes have always been a thing so I'm not surprised, I just hope he gets to live a long and happy life- in the wild they tend not to last long.

He may be an affront to God and nature, but he is a cute one.

 

[Hux]

This is some kind of Aztec Doomsday omen shit right here, especially since it happened in a hellpit like NJ

 

[Dysnomia]

I'd be more concerned about rattlesnakes migrating northeast than I am about any genetic abnormalities that may or may not have something to do with the pop culture stereotype of New Jersey being one giant radioactive toxic waste dump that produces mutants.

I didn't even know there were rattlesnakes up here. That's scary.

 

[Mrs Paul]

Somehow, my avatar seems appropriate here.

 

[Coleslaw]

The armpit of America needs scrubbing.

 

[UntimelyDhelmise]

>Rare

Multi-headedness in reptiles is surprisingly common. You could probably go out and buy a dual-headed bearded dragon or something without much trouble. Only thing rare about this case is it was found in the wild, and even then it was found as a baby so nature didn't have a chance to eliminate it from the equation as it tends to do with genetic deformities like this.

 

[Ido]

>Rare

Multi-headedness in reptiles is surprisingly common. You could probably go out and buy a dual-headed bearded dragon or something without much trouble. Only thing rare about this case is it was found in the wild, and even then it was found as a baby so nature didn't have a chance to eliminate it from the equation as it tends to do with genetic deformities like this.

Even in captivity, after they hatch they dont tend to live long. There are probably more but I do know of one two headed beardie named zak n weezy. I think that lived a long time, probably that one, did see a pic of one that did look unquestionably like it had metabolic bone disease (two heads probably needed more uvb and calcium then a normal dragon). Honestly I don't hear about as many two headed lizards as I do turtles and snakes- those two seem to do the best out of the reptiles. All the other ones are much more likely to die in infancy even under specialized care.

On the beardie thing specifically: I've seen color pattern morphs go for over $1000. If you could find a living, healthy dragon with a breeder willing to sell you're going to be dropping mad cash. Edit to say: 100/10 times they aren't going to sell a two headed animal.

 

[Your Weird Fetish]

How does this actually happen in reptiles? Is their an oviparous equivalent to a conjoined fetus? Or do these not lay eggs?

 

[Iron Hamster]

They can't find all the bodies dumped there but find a rare snake.

 

[Mrs Paul]

Seriously, is this a mutation, or more like conjoined twins?