A rare newborn two-headed snake was found swimming in a canal in southern Thailand.

Thanaphat Prateep, 28 said he was fishing when he spotted the strange creature in the water in Narathiwat province on November 30.

The military officer backed away from the water as he feared it could be venomous, but after a closer look, he found out it was a puff-faced water snake.

The baby snake had two heads, but shares a single body with the same organs. The angler scooped it up and placed it in a glass jar before driving home to keep as a pet. It has survived in his home for the last four days.

Thanapat said: "It's very unlikely that the snake would survive living in the canal. Its habitat is the shallow waters with seaweeds and other aquatic plants grown."

Upon reaching home, Thanapat prepared a small plastic container with water to become the snake's temporary shelter until he can build a proper tank for it.

He is now feeding it with small cuts of fish and shrimp but does it alternately on each mouth every feeding time since the snake shares the same internal organs.

He said: "I don't want to over feed it. I know how to take care of reptiles but this is a special snake so I might have to research more how to properly take care of it to keep it healthy."

The puff-faced water snake inhabits freshwater bodies including swamps, ponds and forest streams. They feed on small fish or frogs.

The snake is believed to have Polycephaly, a genetic mutation which results in the offspring having more than one head. The most commonly observed two-headed animals are within turtle and snake species.

Two-headed snakes happen in the same way that Siamese twins do. A developing embryo begins to split into identical twins but then stops midway, leaving the twins joined.