Zoo Outfits Injured Turtle With A Custom-Made Lego Wheelchair
- 6 years ago
An injured wild Eastern box turtle is recovering at the Maryland Zoo with the help of a custom wheelchair made of Lego bricks.
An injured wild Eastern box turtle is recovering at the Maryland Zoo with the help of a custom wheelchair made of Lego bricks. Dr. Ellen Bronson, senior director at the zoo, reports that the turtle was found in a park and "had multiple fractures on his plastron, the bottom part of his shell." Surgery was performed, but to make a full recovery the animal needed to keep his underside off the ground while moving about. "They don't make turtle-sized wheelchairs," Garrett Fraess, veterinary extern at the Zoo, noted. "So, we drew some sketches of a customized wheelchair and I sent them to a friend who is a [Lego] enthusiast." It worked, and the animal is expected to be well enough to walk on his own by spring.
An injured wild Eastern box turtle is recovering at the Maryland Zoo with the help of a custom wheelchair made of Lego bricks. Dr. Ellen Bronson, senior director at the zoo, reports that the turtle was found in a park and "had multiple fractures on his plastron, the bottom part of his shell." Surgery was performed, but to make a full recovery the animal needed to keep his underside off the ground while moving about. "They don't make turtle-sized wheelchairs," Garrett Fraess, veterinary extern at the Zoo, noted. "So, we drew some sketches of a customized wheelchair and I sent them to a friend who is a [Lego] enthusiast." It worked, and the animal is expected to be well enough to walk on his own by spring.