From Cape Wildlife Center

Talk about a double take !!

This diamondback terrapin hatchling has two heads - a rare developmental anomaly called bicephaly.

The 5.2-gram hatchling arrived today at the Cape Wildlife Center from a protected nesting site in Wellfleet, brought to us by the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Our veterinary team will be closely monitoring the little terrapin as we learn more about how their two heads and bodies work together.

We've only seen two other bicephalic cases in the last 5 years, making this still an especially rare case for our team. While we've encountered this unusual condition before, every case gives us another opportunity to learn more about these fascinating animals' anatomy and physiology.

For now, our team is monitoring this little one's (two's?) appetite, growth, and behavior closely.

Until...

No being morbid around the babies! 😮

Two-for-one deal on cuties! Hoping all turns out well for them 💚🐢

Having two heads is better than one, trust me, I know what I'm speaking about.

Cutest smol guy

A more perfect image than I could have ever imagined!

Double the love! 🥰 🥰

A few people in the comments talked about doubled-up animals they had seen in various places, and while not as successful maybe as more typical animals, they still got to live decent lives for the years they did have.

We had a beautiful Diamondback Terrapin all season this year and she was a real pleasure to have around, so I hope this one has a nice long life!

Name him Zaphod!

I second this

1 guy or 2 guys, that is the question!

wut! How come there's a suitable b/w movie screenshot for this?

Or maybe 1/2 gals! I looked it up how to tell, and you can't differentiate the sex until the shell reaches 4 inches/10 cm. I'm assuming they would be the same gender since it just looks like one ova that didn't seperate, but I know nil about reptile reproduction.

It would seem to have 2 brains, so they would experience life at least partially different than each other, so I say that should count as 2.

I assumed guy was non-gendered here

It's from The Addams Family.

I assumed I should never assume! 😄

It was interesting to read about that one has to wait a bit to tell them apart either way.

Wait turtles have belly buttons?

I'm not sure if it's technically considered a belly button, but they have a bit of yolk sac left to provide the first few days' nutrition for them. Then it dries up, falls off, and leaves a scar that will eventually disappear.

I would vote for this zaphod for galactic president.

The Addams Family Goes To School, S01E01 to be exact. I just posted a discussion thread for the episode on Wednesday. https://piefed.social/c/television@piefed.social/p/2389880/the-addams-family-goes-to-school-the-addams-family-1964-s01e01

How timely! I'm sure I've seen it, as when I looked it up I saw it was a standard prop for the living room, but I never would have recalled that on my own. May that be a good omen!

I wanna watch em eat a strawberry 😱

Might be out of luck there. I only saw the one in our care eat fishy, seafoody things and some googling says they are almost strictly carnivorous, and many seem to suspect what little vegetation ends up in their belly is probably just coincidental.

Diamondback terrapins are almost strictly carnivorous but sometimes ingest small amounts of plant material. They possess strong jaws and crushing plates in their mouths that enable them to eat hard-shelled prey, including aquatic snails, crabs and small bivalves, such as mussels and clams. They also eat carrion, fish, worms and insects. (National Aquarium)

As carnivores most Diamondback Terrapins will readily accept any number of commercial turtle diets. We suggest a mixture of three or four different high-quality types. Fish, frozen crayfish or shrimp, and earthworms should add to the variety. Freeze-dried krill or brine shrimp can also provide a great treat for these turtles. (The Turtle Source)

Thank you.

My name is zaphod and I approve.