Two-headed gecko dubbed ‘Simon & Garfunkel’ defies odds as he reaches 4 week birthday – & happily feeds from BOTH heads

A RARE two-headed gecko has beat the odds and survived for four weeks in a zoological marvel. Simon and Garfunkel, a dual-headed gecko, shocked professional breeders when it unexpectedly hatched in late June. At four weeks old Simon and Garfunkel have defied all the odds Credit: Jam Press/Rockstar Geckos Both heads are said to be feeding independently Credit: Jam Press/Rockstar Geckos Although experts warned the husband and wife business owners that the super-rare reptile was unlikely to survive, Simon and Garfunkel is now four weeks old and both heads are feeding happily. The Pennsylvania-based breeders said: “They’re doing great.” Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Amazingly neither head currently appears dominant and their positioning means they cannot reach or bite one another. X-rays have been considered, but the breeders are still deciding whether the potential benefits outweigh the risks because the gecko is so small and easily stressed by handling. Simon and Garfunkel weighed just under 2g after hatching Credit: Jam Press/Rockstar Geckos The tiny crested gecko hatched unexpectedly at a husband-and-wife breeding business Credit: Jam Press/Rockstar Geckos Sharing their four-week milestone online, the breeders wrote: “Here they are at 4 weeks old! “I chose these photos specifically to show just how tiny they still are, only 1.8 grams. “It’s hard to grasp until you see them next to a fingernail.” The couple, who own Rockstar Geckos, say Simon and Garfunkel are starting to move more as a team with their coordination improving with each day. Most read in The Sun The condition is known as dicephaly, a rare developmental abnormality in which an animal has two heads. Its exact occurrence among crested geckos is not known. A peer-reviewed review published in 2010 noted that only four cases of dicephalism had then been documented across three families of lizards, including geckos. Simon and Garfunkel weighed just under 2g after hatching. Rockstar Geckos said at the time: “We were definitely very surprised. Nothing seemed different about this egg at all.” The following day, the tiny reptile shed its skin without help and was placed inside a specially modified enclosure that made its food easier to reach. An ordinarily healthy crested gecko can live for between 15 and 20 years in human care, but there is no established life expectancy for a two-headed hatchling such as Simon and Garfunkel. Simon and Garfunkel now have a flourishing fan club who can’t get enough of them. One person said: “Yay! Such good news! I have been wondering how they are doing. They look like they are thriving!” Another person commented: “My god this is so incredible. Thank you for keeping us updated, have loved their little journey so far.” A third person added: “I look for these posts every week to see how they are doing. Love the names.” A fourth person wrote: “Okayyyy I need to get them tattooed on me” 1 comment1