Guide Note

Two-Headed turtles are quite rare, but when two-headed reptiles occasionally surface it is the result of conjoined-twin births.¹

Fast Facts

1. Arises from a condition called polycephaly
2. Big Al's two-headed turtle is of the red-eared slider breed
3. Purchased for an undisclosed price²
4. Several turtles with two heads on the same side of their body have also been found³

A turtle collector found a two-headed turtle in September 2007 and sold it to Big Al's Aquarium Supercenter in East Norriton, Pennsylvania. The store owner said that the turtle is not for sale, but will remain on display at the store for customers to observe.³

The same collector, an unnamed man from Florida, reportedly sold another conjoined-twin turtle to a different Big Al's store in the late 1980s.²

The turtle has one head at either end of its body and two pairs of front legs, but only one set of back legs and one tail. It likely would not have survived long in the wild, since it walks and swims awkwardly, which would make it an easy target for predators.