Injured Turtle Gets Around With the Help of Custom Wheelchair Made of Legos

Legos are more than just toys for this injured turtle, who relies on them to get around.

An Eastern box turtle living at the Maryland Zoo uses a custom wheelchair made out of Legos.

"He never even hesitated," veterinary extern Garrett Fraess said in a statement. “He took off and has been doing great. Turtles are really good at healing as long as the shell remains stable."

The injured wild turtle was found in a park by a zoo employee, who brought him to the zoo’s hospital for treatment.

Veterinarians soon discovered he had multiple fractures on the bottom of his shell, which made it painful for the turtle to walk since the area of his injuries dragged along the ground.

“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,” said the zoo’s Dr. Ellen Bronson.

After undergoing surgery to stabilize his shell, researchers built a makeshift wheelchair using Lego bricks, consisting of a frame and four wheels. They explained it would help keep the turtle’s shell off the ground and free his legs to move.

Bronson said she hopes the wheelchair will help the turtle recover so the reptile can be released into the wild.

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