KANSAS CITY STAR (Missouri) 02 January 06 St. Louis aquarium to sell rare two-headed albino snake (Jim SalteR)
St. Louis (AP): For sale: One snake. Albino. Has two heads. Asking $150,000 or best offer.
The World Aquarium in St. Louis has been home to We, a one-of-a-kind two-headed albino rat snake, since 1999. President Leonard Sonnenschein has decided to sell the reptile, and bidding on e-Bay will start at $150,000.
"It's an amazing snake," Sonnenschein said Monday. "When people see it they are awe-struck."
The 6 1/2-year-old snake came to the aquarium's attention when its previous owner distributed a circular offering it for sale days after its birth. The aquarium paid $15,000, knowing full well that most two-headed snakes don't live more than a few months.
But We has survived and thrived. An inch thick and 4 feet long, she is a healthy size for a rat snake. While its body is white, the heads have a reddish appearance.
We has survived because, unlike some two-headed animals, both mouths are connected to the same stomach, Sonnenschein said.
Van Wallach of Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology said We should live an additional 10 to 15 years. And Sonnenschein said it's at a ripe age for breeding.
"We expect the sale of We to be on the same level of demand as a priceless art object," he said.
The snake has been in the spotlight before. In 2004, a disgruntled City Museum worker stole We. Authorities found the snake in the garage of the man's home in Illinois.
"He thought he was going to sell it," Sonnenschein said. "The thing is, it's the only one in the world."
The snake has female genitalia, though Sonnenschein believes one head is male and the other female.
Sonnenschein said the decision to sell We was a difficult one, "but somebody would probably like to have it more than us, and we can use the money for our education, conservation and research programs."
The organization donated more than 9,000 desktop aquariums to families and schools last year, works with students from more than 20 universities and high schools to promote understanding of the underwater world, and is involved in programs aimed at protecting against overfishing in the world's oceans.
The aquarium sits on the second flood of the City Museum, an eclectic St. Louis attraction that draws about 650,000 visitors each year.
Sonnenschein said We would make a great zoo attraction or could be purchased by the leaders of some foreign land where mythology surrounds two-headed snakes.
"We think it's a very valuable animal," he said.
St. Louis aquarium to sell rare two-headed albino snake
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MO Press: St. Louis aquarium to sell rare two-headed albino snake
Replies (13)
though Sonnenschein believes one head is male and the other female.
That is the stupidest thing I heard all year.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake
www.freewebs.com/badyear2005
Maby he thinks it will cr@p fertile eggs?
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President Leonard Sonnenschein has decided to sell the reptile, and bidding on e-Bay will start at $150,000.
Hate to break it to you Lenny, but I don't think any bidding is going to start at that price.
What a moron. They forgot to mention that this defect won't be heritable,...unless of course he can get the male half of the body to breed with the female half.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas
>>President Leonard Sonnenschein has decided to sell the reptile, and bidding on e-Bay will start at $150,000.
>>
>>Hate to break it to you Lenny, but I don't think any bidding is going to start at that price.
>>
>>What a moron. They forgot to mention that this defect won't be heritable,...unless of course he can get the male half of the body to breed with the female half.
>>-----
>>Chris Harrison
>>San Antonio, Texas
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas
There's a condition called chimerism where the genetics of two different beings can be in the same body.
I just saw a TV special on it about a week ago & you can find out more info if you do a Google search.
By the way, the TV show was specifically on humans & they think it may be a lot more common than realized. Without DNA testing, any one of you could be carrying multiple genetics & not even know it!
On the flip side, he's an idiot for thinking he can sell it on Ebay & for thinking he can get that kind of $$$.
Then again, there's a sucker born every minute. 
Cheers,
Max
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"I got out of the business because it's almost impossible to do business without breaking a law some place, whether you knowingly do it or not."
Tom Crutchfield
Chimerism (secondary DNA) is only found in the genitals, as was mentioned in that show. It IS bizarre, though. In this case...the head of the aquarium is just an idiot.
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1.1 Blackheaded pythons
1.1 Woma (Juvie female)
2.1 Aussie Olives
1.1 Timors
1.0 Angolan Juvie
1.1 Savu
1.1 Juvie Bloods
1.1 Juvie Balls
1.1 IJ Carpets
1.1 Coastal Carpets
1.2 Macklotts
1.1 Papuan Olives
1.0 Jungle Carpet
2.2 Scrubs (on breeding loan)
0.1 Jungle/Diamond cross
0.1 child, CB
0.1 wife, WC
While I'll agree that that guy is an idiot, & wouldn't know the sex if one of the heads bit him (Usually it's the females who bite! ), from what I have heard about most of the twinning in snakes happens when an eggshell encloses two separately fertilized ovum. Thus identical twin snakes don't happen. Two headedness in snakes happens when the twins are conjoined like Siamese twins & one twin grows into the other. I read most of this years ago & can't remember where & I could be off base here 
, but I seem to recall it was in a scientific journal - Not to say they are always right...& I was not a biology major...
Cheers,
Max
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"I got out of the business because it's almost impossible to do business without breaking a law some place, whether you knowingly do it or not."
Tom Crutchfield
Max...that info is correct, and explained very nicely in Richard Ross's book on breeding pythons. My only statement was that chimerism wouldn't have caused 2 heads.
BTW...I like your siggy. I remember when Tom C. Was into the hobby the first time. A quote at Daytona '04 from Hank Molt or Tom...not sure which, when they were being kicked out of a hotel as the hurricane approached. "You're kicking us out of a hotel? We've been kicked out of countries for less than this!"
lol
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1.1 Blackheaded pythons
1.1 Woma (Juvie female)
2.1 Aussie Olives
1.1 Timors
1.0 Angolan Juvie
1.1 Savu
1.1 Juvie Bloods
1.1 Juvie Balls
1.1 IJ Carpets
1.1 Coastal Carpets
1.2 Macklotts
1.1 Papuan Olives
1.0 Jungle Carpet
2.2 Scrubs (on breeding loan)
0.1 Jungle/Diamond cross
0.1 child, CB
0.1 wife, WC
Ask Max how it is sitting on the beach through a hurricane!
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Bill Lamoreaux says hi to you and your wife. I got the article from him and thanks!
Dusty R.
www.subocs.blogspot.com
did they say eBay / to my knowledge as an eBay seller, they don't allow sales of live animals on that site.
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>>did they say eBay / to my knowledge as an eBay seller, they don't allow sales of live animals on that site.
>>-----
You're correct. From ebay's website:
"Other than the exceptions noted here, eBay does not allow sales of live animals or pets on eBay. eBay allows sales of tropical fish and domestic (i.e. not exotic) aquatic snails,. . . "
deg
Yep. I'm a full time ebayseller, and it was just announced the other day that they would NOT be changing their position on this. and if he thinks one head is male and the other female, he should be fired.
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1.1 Blackheaded pythons
1.1 Woma (Juvie female)
2.1 Aussie Olives
1.1 Timors
1.0 Angolan Juvie
1.1 Savu
1.1 Juvie Bloods
1.1 Juvie Balls
1.1 IJ Carpets
1.1 Coastal Carpets
1.2 Macklotts
1.1 Papuan Olives
1.0 Jungle Carpet
2.2 Scrubs (on breeding loan)
0.1 Jungle/Diamond cross
0.1 child, CB
0.1 wife, WC
