Tanee Janusz of Louisiana became the proud owner of a rare, two-headed Western rat snake after a friend found one in his yard last fall.
"These guys are super slow so we were really surprised nothing got to them before he found them," Janusz said in an email to USA TODAY.
Janusz said after a trip to the vet, she learned the snakes are conjoined twins with two brains but a shared digestive and respiratory tracts. She named them Filé and Gumbo as a nod to New Orleans.
The snakes were estimated to be a day old when found last September.
Janusz plans to incorporate the snakes into her wildlife education business Nature to Geaux.
Although two-headed snakes are rare, there have been several recent reports of sightings, including one earlier this year in Missouri and a boa constrictor in Florida with two heads and two hearts, reported National Geographic.
Janusz said the snakes have been easy to care for, but there are some different tasks she must manage because of the dual heads.
"I do have to watch is the level of water in their bowl since the dominant head (Gumbo, who is the right head) will drag the other one through the water," said Janusz. "I also have to help them shed when they are ready to do so."
