A dragon with two heads and six legs sounds like something out of Greek mythology, not a pet. But for Todd Ray, owner of California's Venice Beach Freakshow, that's just what Pancho and Lefty is -- or shall we say, are.
The 2 1/2-month-old two-headed bearded dragon arrived safely at Ray's West Coast doorstep last week, shipped from its birthplace just outside of Dayton, Ohio, through an animal transport company.
Wheezie, left, and Zak wear their party hats for their first birthday party in this 2008 photo. Barbara and Frank Witte of Fowler, Calif., own the rare two-headed bearded dragon, which was featured in a Ripley's Believe it or Not cartoon.
These conjoined Western diamondback rattlesnakes were found outside Tucson, Ariz., in August. Veterinarians at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum separated them. Unfortunately, only one survived.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
"The one who died was the weaker of the two," said Craig Ivanyi, the museum's associate executive director for living collections. "He was being dragged around by his twin, and it was harder for him to recuperate." The prognosis is good, however, for his brother.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Lilly, a five-legged Chihuahua-terrier mix, was saved from life in a Coney Island freak show after Allyson Siegel bought her for $4,000. Lilly had successful surgery to remove her extra leg on July 23.
Jeff Siner, The Charlotte Observer / AP
Staff at an animal hospital in Steamboat Springs, Colo., were stunned when this Black Angus calf was born with seven legs on May 21. The calf was delivered by cesarean section but only lived for about 10 minutes. Hospital staff said the animal also had two spines.
Matt Stensland, Steamboat Pilot & Today / AP
Are two noses better than one for sniffing out carrots? This double-nosed bunny was part of a delivery of 6-week-old dwarf rabbits that arrived in March at Purr-Fect Pets in Milford, Conn. The store owner said March 31 that the little rabbit eats, drinks and hops around just like the rest of the litter. Each nose has two nostrils.
Brian A. Pounds, The Connecticut Post / AP
Wheezie, left, and Zak wear their party hats for their first birthday party in this 2008 photo. Barbara and Frank Witte of Fowler, Calif., own the rare two-headed bearded dragon, which was featured in a Ripley's Believe it or Not cartoon.
Craig Kohlruss, Fresno Bee / MCT
A six-legged fawn is shown at an animal clinic in Rome, Ga., on July 21, 2008. The animal was cared for at the clinic after it was attacked by two dogs, sustaining injuries that resulted in one of its two tails being amputated. The fawn has two distinct pelvises and uses one leg from each pelvis to walk.
Brittany Hannah, The Rome News-Tribune / AP
The better to hear you with, my dear. Yoda was born with an extra set of ears, but that didn't stop Valerie Rock from falling in love and taking him home in 2008 after seeing him being passed around in a bar.
Glenn Olsen Photography / AP
Who's the fairest goat of them all? A young woman takes a picture of a goat with a curiously abbreviated snout during a competition and auction for the best-looking and rarest goats in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 12, 2008.
Hassan Ammar, AFP / Getty Images
A genetic aberration split Angel's front left leg in two, making her look like she has five legs. An Ohio veterinarian said in March 2008 that the condition doesn't cause the dog pain, but gives her problems moving around. The problem also can't be corrected through surgery.
Bruce Bishop, Elyria Chronicle Telegram / AP
As with most of his freak animals, Ray discovered the conjoined-twin lizard on an online forum. And like most of us, the original owner had never seen anything like it. After two months of caring for the remarkable creature, the hobbyist breeder had grown attached to it, but Ray says he persuaded him to make the sale.
"I told him, 'This is what we do. These are the types of animals that we're used to taking care of and that we love to bring to the public so that they can see these living miracles.'"
"He was excited about that," Ray told AOL News. "He didn't want them to end up in someone's home or in a situation where they might not make it."
The immediate payment of nearly $5,000 also helped sway the owner's decision.
So far, Pancho and Lefty are doing well. Ray closed the Freakshow for several days in order to stay home and ensure the double dragon was adjusting to its new environment. Of course, much of that time was spent just watching the lizard -- or lizards -- in fascination.
"They're amazingly cute," he said. "And their colors are really nice."
Both heads have been enjoying a healthy diet of crickets and wax worms, and their body has already begun shedding.
They move with relative ease, although sleep can occasionally be a struggle when Pancho wants to rest, but Lefty doesn't. Lefty will start walking and dragging his twin in a desired direction. When Pancho inevitably wakes up, he'll start pulling the other way.
But overall, they get along well and never fight.
"It's like they're used to having each other there," Ray said.
He plans to showcase them at the Freakshow once they've gotten bigger and are comfortable in front of people. A special terrarium designed to control the high levels of humidity at the beach will be set up for them in their new home.
"I could be making money now, but their value is much more than money," Ray said. "The typical freak show mentality is to get the money. We'll get the money, but we make sure we protect these animals because they're beyond special."
The find comes just weeks after the showman acquired a two-headed albino hognose snake. Now with 14 live double-headers -- not to mention 20 examples of dragon anomalies that didn't make it past birth, including four-legged conjoined twins and one with two faces -- Ray believes his Venice Beach Freakshow is the world's largest assembly of two-headed creatures.
"One-headed animals definitely seem kinda weird to me at this point," he said.
Copyright: (C) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/termsofuse.html
