Two-headed Snake (Red-tailed Short Snake)

1 Overview

The two-headed snake (Calamaria septentrionalis) does not have two heads – its blunt tail mimics the head in shape, thickness and pattern, so at a glance both ends look like heads. A non-venomous colubrid.

SOURCE NOTE: binomial given as Calamaria septentrionalis. Listed in China’s 2000 protected terrestrial-wildlife list (the ‘Three-Have’ beneficial or economic or scientific list) – so private captive keeping is essentially absent.

2 Appearance

Non-venomous. Valuable, so listed as protected. Total length about 35 cm. No internasal, loreal or temporal scales; upper lip 4, lower lip 5; preocular 1, postocular 1. Smooth dorsals in 13 rows; anal scale entire; subcaudals paired. Tail blunt with yellow bands; tail shape, thickness and pattern resemble the head with similar yellow marks – looks two-headed.

3 Habitat & Environment

Valuable and protected (China’s 2000 list). Not kept privately. Likes warm humid climates; temperate or subtropical; burrows in hills, forests, plains; found around 300 m hills. Lives in damp soil holes in plains, hills, mountains.

4 Diet & Feeding

Valuable, protected (China’s 2000 list). A colubrid of genus Calamaria, aka double-head snake, Yuewang snake. Non-venomous. Lives hidden under soil, secretive. Eats earthworms.