The young python has two eyes in the same socket, possibly due to a rare syndrome called cyclopia.
Tyree Jimerson, a python breeding specialist, discovered that the mutant python had two eyes attached when the last nest of python eggs broke, Newsweek reported yesterday. This practice is quite common in python breeding, which helps ensure that the young can escape.
The python inside the cow’s egg zigzags out of the shell with a rope wrapped around the neck. “When I stuck his head out it really scared me,” Jimerson said. What Jimerson saw was a snake with two eyes in the same socket and an unusual nose.
What surprised Jimerson even more was that the snake was still alive. But he said the animal was very weak and couldn’t lift its head. Jimerson has heard of this phenomenon before. “There was someone who owned the same python and it didn’t survive. So I went to work and destroyed it,” Jimerson said.
Jimerson took some weird photos of the python, then put them in the freezer. “I let it freeze. I have no choice,” Jimerson said. The breeding specialist preserves the python carcass with a formalin solution. Jimerson plans to sell the single specimen and has received a buyback offer for $ 750.
The python can develop monocular syndrome (cyclopia) in which the face of the embryo becomes too flattened during its development. In this case, the eye sockets are tied together and the eyes are in the same place. In other cases, animals have only one large eye. Pigs, cattle, humans and sharks can all suffer from this syndrome. Because cyclopia affects the brain, mutated animals rarely live long after birth.
