By: Bryan Li
Janus, a tortoise born with two heads, two hearts, and two pairs of lungs, turned 25 on September 3rd this year. Janus currently resides in the Natural History Museum in Geneva, Switzerland where his dedicated caretakers threw him a party full of events and photo-shoots.
Greek tortoises generally have a long lifetime and can live up to 200 years in the wild. However, when a tortoise is born with two heads, they normally don’t live very long.
Sometimes, as is the case with Janus, a tortoise with two heads can’t retract its heads into its shell, making it easy prey for predators. Fortunately, Janus lives inside a museum where is has access to anything he could possibly want, and has staff dedicated solely to his wellbeing. Getting eaten might be a little less likely in these conditions.
However, that does not mean that Janus’ life is easy. His right head controls the limbs on the right side of his body, and his left head controls the limbs on the left side of his body. This can make it difficult for Janus to move when his heads want to go different directions. His heads also regularly rub against each other, creating painful skin sores. If that isn’t bad enough, Janus also has trouble rolling over when he is flipped upside-down. Turtles, when left upside-down for too long, can get dehydrated, sunburned, and even die.
Despite the adversities of having two heads, Janus lives quite a luxurious life. Massages, baths of green tea and chamomile, meals of fruits and vegetables, and a custom skateboard are just a few of the amenities Janus has access to.