On August 11, the Wildlife Center admitted a very rare and unusual patient – a bicephalic (two-headed) Northern Ring-necked Snake. The snake had been found trapped in a sump pump tank in Rockingham County; it was brought to the Center due to concerns that it aspirated water from a prolonged entrapment, and so staff could evaluate its condition.
Bicephely is a rare condition that occurs when there is an incomplete splitting of an embryo. The condition is more common in captivity due to inbreeding and usually occurs in snakes that give live birth, but it can also occur in wild snakes, like this ring-necked snake. Unfortunately, snakes with this condition generally live very short lives; they often struggle with mobility and capturing prey, and become an easy target for predators. Even in captivity, bicephalic snakes generally do poorly.
On admission, the veterinary team examined the snake. Dr. Olivia noted that the snake was alert and that both heads were active, though the right head was more dominant than the left. The team did not find any injuries, but Dr. Olivia was concerned about the snake's mobility – while monitoring the snake, she noticed that it struggled to navigate its environment and had difficulty moving normally. If released, the snake would not survive.
State Herpetologist JD Kleopfer visited the Center the following day and examined the snake, offering his expertise on the subject. Overall, JD had the same concerns as the vet staff. Rather than releasing the snake, JD and staff discussed the possibility of placing the snake in a zoologic facility where it could receive long-term care. However, due to the snake's very small size, which would make caring for it very difficult, and because it was already having challenges in captivity, JD and staff decided that the best option was humane euthanasia.
“It's not the outcome we hoped for, but the decision was made in the snake's best interest,” said Dr. Olivia. “It just wouldn't have been fair to hold it in captivity somewhere when we know it would likely result in prolonged suffering.”
However, that's not the end of the snake's story. After the snake was euthanized, the vet team preserved the snake using ethanol and plan to transport it to the Virginia Museum of Natural History, where it will undergo DNA analysis. Arianna Kuhn, the museum's Assistant Curator of Herpetology, said that the museum “serves as a repository for tissues and specimens that other researchers can ‘check out’ like books in a library for their research." The snake's DNA may help researchers learn more about its condition, and contribute to future studies relating to herpetology and conservation.