Photo: Getty Images
A two-headed western rat snake has returned to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco after more than two years.
The rare creature was first brought to Cameron Park in 2016 by a family outside of Waco who found him slithering around in their yard. They donated him to the zoo because of the various health difficulties that could have arisen if he was left to fend for himself in the wild.
For example, because the snake has two brains that are often giving multiple and opposite commands to his one body, his movements are random and uncoordinated compared to those of one-headed snakes.
The Cameron Park Zoo also wrote an announcement post on social media including a reason behind what separated the snake from the location in the first place:
"The other problem is that he can easily injure his neck by trying to go in different directions and getting stuck on branches, rocks and other obstacles.
This is what happened back in February of 2021. He had a wound on his left neck so we took him off exhibit to heal. Our veterinary and reptile teams worked hard to keep the wound bandaged and clean. It took until June last year for the wound to fully heal."
However, the snake has seemed to make a full recovery as he has been eating well and the wound has been completely closed for an entire year.
The post continued:
"…We are excited to put him back out in the freshwater aquarium building. You may notice that his exhibit does not have many obstacles besides grass. We are hoping that this design provides enough cover for the snake to feel secure while also being physically safe, so he does not injure his neck again.
We love how invested our community is in the zoo and in this snake. Even though he has been off exhibit for over two years, we still regularly get questions about him, so we are excited that he is visible for everybody again."
It was also noted that instead of the two-headed snake living in the herpetarium, he is being housed in the freshwater aquarium building along the Brazos River Country trail.