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Rare two-headed snake found in Texas yard

Ashley May
USA TODAY
In this Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016 photo, Brian Henley, Cameron Park Zoo's amphibian and reptile care supervisor, holds a two-headed baby rat snake, in Waco, Texas.

A two-headed rat snake found in a Central Texas yard will soon be part of a zoo exhibit.

Zoo supervisor Brian Henley said a woman discovered the snake when her dog started chasing something under her front porch, AP reports. The West and Taylor family brought the reptile to Waco's Cameron Park Zoo Sept. 16.

The snake is eating and in good health, the zoo said on Facebook. The zoo will monitor the snake for 90 days before featuring it in its Brazos River Country Texas collection.

Two-headed snakes rarely survive in the wild, because the two brains must operate as one. If one head smells prey on the other’s head, it will try to swallow the second head, according to National Geographic News.

A local zoo patron found this snake and gifted it to the zoo about two weeks ago.

Deciding which direction to move to avoid attack can also be problematic.

Two-headed snakes have a better chance of survival in captivity.

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