Take a Look: A Two-Headed Snake Born in Reptile Store, ‘Fingers Crossed They Continue To Do Well’

An exotic pet store has added an even more exotic pet to its roster: a two-headed Western Hognose snake.

Exeter Exotics in Devon, UK, announced the rare specimen on its Facebook page after it hatched.

“Well, this was a bit of a shock to see a couple of days ago,” the reptile shop wrote. The male snake hatched on July 17 without any assistance from the staff. Alicia Johns, the owner of the shop, told the BBC she was “shocked” to see the creature hatch with two heads.

According to Johns, the snake was expected to hatch as twins but the embryo did not split.

"I was shocked. A bit of disbelief to begin with because they are rare," she told the news agency.

In an update on the snake, posted on Aug. 8, the store said the right head of the snake prefers sardine-scented pinky heads and has a good appetite, while the left head “seemed to struggle” with food despite seeming interested in eating. It is thought that the left side's throat may be narrower than the right, the shop said.

“It is strange to see that the left-hand head will make the chewing motion of eating whilst the right-hand head is eating,” the shop wrote. “Fingers crossed they continue to do well.”

The chances of a snake being hatched with two heads are quite low, according to the Reptarium. Only 1 out of every 100,000 snake births result in the unusual form.

Western Hognose snakes can be found in North America, preferring sandy, gravelly areas, according to the Cayugana Nature Center. Females can grow up to 3 feet, but males often only reach between 15 to 20 inches. The species can be “highly defensive,” according to the nature center.

"I just love them. I love that they're quite feisty and quite sassy,” Johns told the BBC about the species.

Johns has no intentions of selling the two-headed snake and said the staff will be keeping an eye out on how it progresses.

"It's fascinating but it is still sad,” she said. “If we ever felt it got to the stage where he was deteriorating or wasn't doing well or was uncomfortable or in pain, then that's when we'd re-evaluate the situation."