The Geneva Museum of Natural History says that turtle heads have their own personalities with different moods and tastes.
Geneva the natural history museum will host a birthday party for the two-headed Janus turtle this coming weekend, reports news agency Reuters.
In honor of Janus’ birthday, the museum plans to give the turtle a surprise gift.
With the festive buzz of the weekend, 25-year-old Janus becomes the world’s oldest living two-headed turtle. A two-headed turtle would not normally survive long in the wild, as it cannot retract its heads into its shell to protect itself from predators.
With two heads Janus also has two hearts and two lungs but only one digestive tract.
For this reason, Janus must be constantly monitored, as it can be life-threatening for the turtle if it falls on its shield.
Janus heads also have their own personalities, with different moods and tastes. According to the museum, it has sometimes also led to conflicts, for example about which direction to move.
“I’ve noticed that the right head is more curious, more alert, and has a much stronger personality. The left head is more passive and very greedy,” says Janus’ caregiver Angelica Bourgoin.
Bourgoin added that one of Janus’s heads likes endive and the other likes carrots.
Janus the two-headed turtle, named after the two-faced Roman god, tests out a skateboard ahead of his 25th birthday at the Natural History Museum in Geneva on September 2.
Janus’s the secret of a long life lies in the care it receives, with which the turtle is pampered daily.
Pampering includes, for example, a daily massage and baths in green tea and chamomile.
Janus’ daily meal consists of an organic salad.
The museum says that Janus enjoys regular walks, sometimes even accompanied by music. In addition to this, Janus also moves on a custom-made skateboard.