For sale: Two-headed, five-foot-long, albino rat snake. Bidding starts at $150,000 Updated Snake Dies

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ST. LOUIS (AP) - For sale: one snake. Albino. Has two heads. Asking $150,000 US 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 most two-headed snakes don't live more than a few months.

But We has survived and thrived. At 2.5 centimetres thick and 1.2 metres long, she is a healthy size for a rat snake. While her 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."

[Venus]

WOW! Wondering how high the bid will go? There is enough crazy people in the world who would want a two headed snake.

[MedicCook]

Updated



Long-lived two-headed snake dies

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ST. LOUIS - A two-headed snake named "We," the main attraction at the World Aquarium, has died. The 8-year-old rat snake died of natural causes during the weekend, said caretaker Leonard Sonnenschein. Most two-headed snakes survive for only a week or two.

"It's terrible news," Sonnenschein said. "People come in every day and say: 'I'm here to see the two-headed snake.'"

Sonnenschein said more than a million people have seen We over the years. Children were especially fascinated by the snake, wondering how two heads could coexist on the same body as We sometimes strained to slither in two directions at once.

"These kinds of questions helped spur the science spirit in children," Sonnenschein said.

Sonnenschein said he bought We from a snake breeder in Indiana for $15,000 when the reptile was just a few weeks old.

A taxidermist is preserving We's body, which should be back on display within a week, Sonnenschein said.

The World Aquarium, located inside the downtown City Museum, acquired We in 1999. Last year the aquarium tried to auction off the rare reptile to raise money for research and conservation programs, asking $150,000, but none of the bids was satisfactory.

The snake had both male and female genitalia, Sonnenschein said. The World Aquarium tried unsuccessfully to breed We with another two-headed snake last year, and had planned to try again this summer, aquarium spokesman David Isserman said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070620/ap_on_fe_st/rare_snake_dies

[Donna]

freakofnature:ohwow:

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freakofnature:ohwow:http://www.10dailythings.com/images/freakOfNature.jpg

[Donna]

http://www.10dailythings.com/images/freakOfNature.jpg

GROSS!!!