Advertisement

Snake speaks with forked head

Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter

NEW YORK, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A struggling New York T-shirt vendor and animal rescuer is divided on what to do with the world's only known two-headed boa constrictor.

Named Indy, the creature was born July 4 with 27 siblings who only had one head each, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

Advertisement

Although boa constrictors are illegal in New York, Robert Shapiro, 46, brought the four-eyed snake from his Long Island sanctuary to his New York shop for a press introduction.

While the "main" head functions normally, the second has no throat, and therefore doesn't eat. The second head's eyes move and the tongue flicks, meaning it has its own brain, but no appetite.

Already, word of Indy's historic appearance is spreading through the reptile world. Buyers have called from Asia and Israel.

The stereo snake is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but Shapiro said only in a few months, when she's old enough to be adopted safely, he'll consider selling her to the highest responsible bidder.

Latest Headlines