Posted on Thu, May. 20, 2004
Family treasures two-headed turtle
By Kathleen Vereen Dayton
The Sun News
Candy King of Moncks Corner sleeps next to a two-headed turtle and has refused to sell the malformed creature, even for ,000.
For now, Redneck the Turtle, or Red and Neck for the individual heads, is happily ensconced in a dimestore aquarium eating duckweed and turtle food sticks.
King brought the double-noggined reptile to Alligator Adventure last week to get the advice of old friend and biologist Ken Alfieri, who says the baby turtle is a cross between a red-eared and a yellow-bellied slider.
The turtle's condition is extremely rare.
"It's what we call one in a million," Alfieri said. "You get many birth defects, but to have two fully-formed, perfect heads like that is very rare."
He says the creature has a 50-50 chance of surviving.
"Once he gets beyond the first month, his chances increase," said Alfieri, animal director at Alligator Adventure. "In the wild, his chances would be a lot less, but in captivity, he's definitely got a chance."
The two-headed aquatic baby, not much bigger than a quarter, was found by King's young sons about a week ago while visiting their grandparents' home in Cross.
Eight-year-old Cody King spotted the turtle trying to swim.
"He was wobbling side to side," said Cody, who thought the turtle looked "real funny." When he picked the animal up, he saw it had two heads.
Cody and his 7-year-old brother, Mitchell, already have a menagerie of turtles at home, plus three snakes and a dog.
"I've never seen a real live two-headed turtle before," Mitchell said.
Alfieri said the turtle would have hatched late last summer and spent the winter underground, feeding off its yolk sac and trying to survive until spring.
Redneck is one lucky reptile. Or maybe two?
"I can refer to them as two, because they have two different attitudes. Little personalities," Candy King said. "The left one is larger than the right one, and he gets his way more. Occasionally they fight over food, but not very often. They kind of make a nice addition to the household."
Alfieri said if the turtle survives its first year, it can live a normal turtle lifespan. Another turtle with two heads is now 6 years old and living in a Florida park, Alfieri said.
Sam Seashole, a Moncks Corner veterinarian who also works with Alfieri at Alligator Adventure, examined Redneck and said he appears healthy.
King said both heads have been eating normally.
But Redneck is missing out on one big part of turtle life. His two heads can't draw into his one shell.
"There's not enough room," King said. "He can't protect himself, but he doesn't have to worry about anything because he sleeps right next to my bed every night."
Redneck also has a tough time deciding which direction to take his turtle steps.
Even with two heads, he just can't figure it out.
"They're not coordinated. The right side wants to go one way and the left side wants to go the other way," King said. "I think that one head controls the back legs and the other head controls the front legs, but I can't tell yet."
Alfieri said the turtle is too young for sex determination, although mature male turtles have longer tails and nails than females.
Redneck has visited Cody and Mitchell's classrooms and has been featured on television in Charleston and on NBC's "The Early Show."
King said several reptile enthusiasts have called offering money for the turtle, and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has offered ,000.
"The time is not right, right now, to sell it," King said. "The boys are too into it right now, and I'm not going to take that away from them."
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On the Net
View more photos of the two-headed turtle at MyrtleBeachOnline.com.
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