Vets design Lego wheelchair for injured turtle

When a Maryland Zoo employee brought an injured turtle to the Druid Hill Park facility, veterinary staff crafted him a wheelchair from the building blocks of their childhood.

The wild Eastern box turtle, about the size of a grapefruit, arrived at the zoo’s hospital in July with severe fractures along the bottom of his shell, called the plastron.

The zoo’s veterinarians performed surgery to fix his shell, stabilizing it with metal plates, sewing clasps and surgical wire. But they were having trouble keeping the turtle’s shell off the ground so it could heal while also maintaining his mobility.

They tried a series of other materials to build a cart to keep the turtle’s shell elevated and allow him to move naturally, said Dr. Ellen Bronson, the zoo’s director of animal health, conservation and research.

“We tried a few other versions of a cart to keep him elevated off of the ground but they didn’t allow him to move as freely and well,” Bronson said in an email.

The staff drafted some sketches of turtle-sized wheelchairs, and Garrett Fraess, a fourth-year veterinary student working at the zoo, sent the images to a Lego enthusiast friend.

The design was a hit, and a few weeks after his surgery, the turtle got his wheels.

A Lego frame surrounds the turtle and is attached to his upper shell with plumber’s putty.

If he makes a full recovery, which could take up to a year, the reptile will be re- leased — without his wheels — where he was found in Druid Hill Park.