The snake has two brains and one body, but the two heads fight one another for food and can lead to death
The snake has two brains and one body, but the two heads fight one another for food and can lead to death
Pet owner Martin Hunter got the fright of his life after his baby corn snake was born - with two heads.

Stunned Martin, 48, returned home from work last week to find the rare reptile slithering around its incubator.

The dad-of-four, of Doncaster, South Yorks., said: "I took one look at it and thought 'what the f***. I thought I was seeing things.

"At first I thought it was twins, but then I realised there were two heads but only one body."

Martin, who breeds snakes to sell to pet shops and has several different species, says the snake was one of 17 eggs laid by a female corn snake.

It hatched from its egg in his living room after 56 days in an incubator and appears to be healthy and fully functioning.

Only a few two-headed snakes survive infancy
Only a few two-headed snakes survive infancy
Experts say a two-headed snake is extremely rare and occurs in only one in 10,000 births. Only very few survive.

Martin, who also owns five tarantulas, says he has called it 'four eyes' and now hopes to put it on display in a zoo.

He added: It's such a rare thing that I think it should be on show somewhere."

One pet owner was shocked to find his corn snake had been born with two heads
One pet owner was shocked to find his corn snake had been born with two heads
Most two-headed snakes have a short lifespan of only a few months but some have lived for years, including a two-headed rat snake that survived for 20 years in Tennessee.

Arizona State University was also home to a two-headed king snake that was found in the desert as a baby which lived for close to 17 years.

Reptile experts have previously likened two headed snakes to Siamese twins born to humans.

It happens when a developing embryo begins to split into identical twins but then stops part way, leaving the twins joined.

The point at which the embryo stops separating varies, and just as Siamese twins can be joined at the head, breast, or hip, the same is true for snakes.

It has two brains, one body, but the two heads fight one another for food and can lead to death.

The survival instinct is different for each head which can lead to the dominant brain dragging the other around.