90-Year Old Tortoise Legs Were Eaten By Rats Gets Prosthetic Wheels

After the vicious attack, a local vet worked to save the 90-year-old pet tortoise life named Mrs. T in Pembrook, but was anxious that would not be able to survive without her mobility. When the tortoise was hibernating for the winter, she ended up losing her front legs. A rat had eaten both legs up to the elbow joint, after breaking into the garden shed where she was sleeping. We were afraid she may have to be put down.

Its owner, Jude Ryder, feared the worst. A £1,000 vet bill did little to increase the situation. That is when the Ryder family turned to their mechanical engineer son Dale for help; he glued wheels from a model aircraft onto the tortoise’s shell, making her twice as fast. Using the wheels from a model airplane, Dale attached them to Mrs. T’s shell with resin, facilitating her to move around freely and leave interesting tracks in her wake.

Dale had received Tortoise as a gift when he was only eight years old, and she was already in her 60s. Now it was like fitting her with a turbocharger and she was going double the speed she used to. Tortoise is still quite young for a when she could go on for another 50 years all she needs is a new set of tires every now and again. Rat attacks on tortoises are not rare. Because Britain’s oldest tortoise, 130-year-old Thomas, died from a rat bite in 2013.

It was like fitting her with a turbocharger and now she’s going double the speed she used to. She uses her back legs to push herself along and it seems quite happy, but it’s problematic to tell with a tortoise. Source: Boredpanda and My Modernmet