Palm Harbor Family's Cat Leaves Them Gift Of Rare 2-Headed Snake

PALM HARBOR, FL — Just in time for Halloween, a Palm Harbor family made a discovery that would give even the most hard-core creepy crawler fan the heebie-jeebies.

The Rogers family found a rare two-headed Southern black racer snake at their home.

The baby snake is now in the care of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg. It has an extraordinary condition called bicephaly in which two monozygotic twins fail to separate, leaving two heads conjoined to a single body.

The research institute said both of the tongues flick and react to movement but not necessarily at the same time, indicating that the reptile has two brains that can react independently.

This would inhibit the snake's ability to feed or escape from predators so its chances of surviving in the wild are poor. The institute will, therefore, keep the snake safe and take the opportunity to study this unusual phenomenon.

Saving the lives of even the smallest creature is par for the course for the Rogers family.

Kay Rogers is a registered nurse who works the front lines at John Hopkins All Children's Hospital. Her husband also works on the front lines as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Rogers couldn't resist joking about her family's once-in-a-lifetime discovery, saying, "Another day in the Rogers Family Zoo, y'all!"

While a two-headed snake is admittedly an unusual pet, the Rogers family makes a habit of rescuing helpless creatures, including dogs, cats, birds and guinea pigs.

Her children, Avery and Wyatt, named the snake Dos (Spanish for "two"). However, Rogers credits its discovery to their cat, Olive, who brought the tiny snake into the house and deposited it in the living room as a "gift" for the family.

While the snake was in the family's care, Rogers said feeding it posed the biggest dilemma.

"We are trying lots of things, but he has trouble coordinating his two heads," she said.