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Vets Build Lego Wheelchair For Turtle Who Lost His Back Legs

Vets Build Lego Wheelchair For Turtle Who Lost His Back Legs

Pedro the turtle thought he'd never walk again – but that's all changed thanks to a Lego car set

EMS 7

EMS 7

When Pedro the turtle lost his two back legs, no one was sure if he'd ever be able to walk again.

However, this all changed thanks to some vets, a Lego car set and some very creative thinking.

LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital

You see, when poor Pedro was first adopted he was already missing one of his legs. Somehow he managed to escape and when he returned home, the box turtle had lost the other one.

His owners brought him to Louisiana State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital to figure out how to treat him. Luckily he wasn't suffering from anything, other than being a clumsy little pickle.

LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital

Ginger Guttner, the communications manager for LSU's School of Veterinary Medicine told CNN: "There was nothing medically wrong with him.

"But of course he didn't have any back legs, so our doctors quickly had to figure out what they were going to do."

After some deliberation over how best to create a walking device for Pedro, eventually they found the solution - a Lego car kit.

One of the LSU's zoological interns picked up the kit, took out the useful parts (i.e. those little wheels), fixed it with some syringe parts and animal-safe epoxy, and sure enough the vets had fashioned a cute little wheelie device for Pedro to get around on.

LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital

And thanks to its Lego base, the wheels can even be snapped off to keep his shell nice and clean. It doesn't get much cuter than that.

Guttner added: "Veterinary medicine often requires this MacGyver-like quality.

"I would say the majority of special equipment we use has been fashioned or re-fashioned for a specific case."

Guess being intuitively creative is just another part of the veterinary job description. Offering up another example of this, Guttner said a team at the hospital once put together a mini fountain to keep fish alive while they performed an endoscopy.

LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital

"Our patients can be two grams or 2,000 pounds, so we often have to look at things from a completely different perspective," she explained.

And you can see the benefits - I'm sure if Pedro could talk, he would say thank you to those who saved his mobility with their quick-thinking.

Not only is he able to get around now, but his family says he's faster than ever.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: World News, Animals