Disabled Turtle Gets LEGO WHEELCHAIR

For really no true reason in particular I’m going to write the introduction to this article to the tune of John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

Imagine you’re a turtle. It’s easy if you try. Big shell above your body. You can’t look at the sky. But this specific turtle. Lose the use of its legs (oh no!) You might be sad about this turtle. But you’re not the only one. Someone built the turtle a wheelchair… made of Legos and now it has fun!

[piano break]

This turtle lost its legs in a car accident, and was found and delivered to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Dr. Ellen Bronson, the zoo’s senior director of animal health said “He had multiple fractures on his plastron, the bottom part of his shell. Because of the unique placement of the fractures, we faced a difficult challenge with maintaining the turtle’s mobility while allowing him to heal properly.”

The turtle’s shell was stabilized, but for it to heal it had to be kept off the ground properly, and thus– a customized wheelchair had to be made. Said Garrett Fraess, a veterinary extern at the zoo — “It was important to keep the bottom of the shell off the ground so it could heal properly. They don’t make turtle-sized wheelchairs. So, we drew some sketches of a customized wheelchair and I sent them to a friend who is a LEGO® enthusiast.”

Well, this Lego enthusiast must also be a happy turtle enthusiast, because clearly his invention worked like a charm! This box turtle is now happily crawling around in its little Lego wheelchair as it makes a full recovery. And if you love the concept of a Lego using turtle, fret not, the turtle is going to be using its chair all through the winter.

Said Dr. Bronson: “Turtles heal much slower than mammals and birds, since their metabolism is slower So, this turtle will likely use his LEGO wheelchair through the winter and into the spring until all of the fragments have fused together and the shell has completely healed.”

We wish the turtle the best of luck and will be sending it flowers which I am sure it will quickly eat.

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