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Posted by Fred A. on January 17, 2000 at 23:16:11:

In Reply to: $30,000 (U.S.) Rat Snake? - Press Item posted by Wes von Papine�u on January 17, 2000 at 12:28:51:

: DETROIT FREE PRESS (Illinois) 17 January 00 Odd snake reaches for heady price (Lekan Oguntoyinbo)
: In Greek mythology, anyone who looked at Medusa, the fearsome woman whose head crawled with snakes, turned to stone.
: But when Tom Raspoptsis looks at Medusa he thinks green. This Medusa is a 30-inch nonvenomous albino rat snake with two heads.
: Raspoptsis, who owns a pet store in Redford, says he paid $15,000 for the snake. He says he won't let go of it until someone pays him $30,000 for it. Good luck, say several herpetologists. Two-headed snakes are not phenomenally rare.
: "Two-headed snakes are not terribly unusual," said Theresa Moran, a member and former president of the Michigan Society of Herpetologists, a club of reptile aficionados. "Most don't survive the hatch. Of those that survive the hatch, most don't live very long. I personally have seen two or three. They are quite rare but not unheard of."
: "We don't see it very often but there have been a lot of snakes that a few zoos have exhibited over the years with two heads," added Andy Snider, curator of Herpetology at the Detroit Zoo.
: But Raspoptsis says Medusa is special.
: "Usually they are deformed or usually one head is messed up," he said at his 8,000-square-foot pet shop on West 8 Mile Road recently. "One side is shorter. Most don't make it past a few months."
: Medusa, he says, is perfect. But he admits that having such an animal poses interesting challenges. For instance, only one head usually eats. But he has to ensure that both heads eat regularly. Otherwise, the snake could experience health problems or even death from malnutrition. And when he feeds them, he has to keep the heads apart or one may try to swallow the other.
: "Once, I fed a mouse to it and both heads bit into it at the same time," he said. Small-brained reptiles, snakes get by largely with what they sense and smell. Since each head can smell blood, each kept trying to swallow the other. "I couldn't sleep that night," he said.
: This isn't the first time he has drawn attention for keeping two-headed animals. He's owned a two-headed turtle for years.
: Medusa hatched 18 months ago from a batch of 15 other snakes, but was the only one to have two heads. Several herpetologists say two-headed snakes are more likely to be hatched in captivity because inbreeding is so common. But the experts say another cause of this trait is the incomplete split of the eggs during the birthing period.
: "When the cell starts splitting, it starts off with two eggs," said James Sikarski, an associate professor of animal science at Michigan State University. "Sometimes you get identical twins in the process."
: And sometimes if the twinning process is incomplete, he said, Siamese twins or a deformed snake results.
: Raspoptsis is going all out to find a collector. His Web site features Medusa and he said he is setting his sights on wealthy collectors from places like Japan, "where they like something very exotic."
:

come baCK TO EARTH SPACE MAN, 30,000 BOLLAS IS A NEW CAR OR ETC,,,,,,,,,,,,

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: : DETROIT FREE PRESS (Illinois) 17 January 00 Odd snake reaches for heady price (Lekan Oguntoyinbo) : : In Greek mythology, anyone who looked at Medusa, the fearsome woman whose head crawled with snakes, turned to stone. : : But when Tom Raspoptsis looks at Medusa he thinks green. This Medusa is a 30-inch nonvenomous albino rat snake with two heads. : : Raspoptsis, who owns a pet store in Redford, says he paid $15,000 for the snake. He says he won't let go of it until someone pays him $30,000 for it. Good luck, say several herpetologists. Two-headed snakes are not phenomenally rare. : : "Two-headed snakes are not terribly unusual," said Theresa Moran, a member and former president of the Michigan Society of Herpetologists, a club of reptile aficionados. "Most don't survive the hatch. Of those that survive the hatch, most don't live very long. I personally have seen two or three. They are quite rare but not unheard of." : : "We don't see it very often but there have been a lot of snakes that a few zoos have exhibited over the years with two heads," added Andy Snider, curator of Herpetology at the Detroit Zoo. : : But Raspoptsis says Medusa is special. : : "Usually they are deformed or usually one head is messed up," he said at his 8,000-square-foot pet shop on West 8 Mile Road recently. "One side is shorter. Most don't make it past a few months." : : Medusa, he says, is perfect. But he admits that having such an animal poses interesting challenges. For instance, only one head usually eats. But he has to ensure that both heads eat regularly. Otherwise, the snake could experience health problems or even death from malnutrition. And when he feeds them, he has to keep the heads apart or one may try to swallow the other. : : "Once, I fed a mouse to it and both heads bit into it at the same time," he said. Small-brained reptiles, snakes get by largely with what they sense and smell. Since each head can smell blood, each kept trying to swallow the other. "I couldn't sleep that night," he said. : : This isn't the first time he has drawn attention for keeping two-headed animals. He's owned a two-headed turtle for years. : : Medusa hatched 18 months ago from a batch of 15 other snakes, but was the only one to have two heads. Several herpetologists say two-headed snakes are more likely to be hatched in captivity because inbreeding is so common. But the experts say another cause of this trait is the incomplete split of the eggs during the birthing period. : : "When the cell starts splitting, it starts off with two eggs," said James Sikarski, an associate professor of animal science at Michigan State University. "Sometimes you get identical twins in the process." : : And sometimes if the twinning process is incomplete, he said, Siamese twins or a deformed snake results. : : Raspoptsis is going all out to find a collector. His Web site features Medusa and he said he is setting his sights on wealthy collectors from places like Japan, "where they like something very exotic." : : : come baCK TO EARTH SPACE MAN, 30,000 BOLLAS IS A NEW CAR OR ETC,,,,,,,,,,,,

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