Custom Lego wheelchair helps injured turtle get around

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
This injured turtle is going places, thanks to his own custom Lego wheelchair.
A Maryland Zoo employee found the wild Eastern box turtle in a park, and after discovering he had a half shell, brought him to the zoo's hospital. They soon realized 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," Dr. Ellen Bronson, senior director of animal health, conservation, and research at the Maryland Zoo, said in a statement.
Using metal bone plates, surgical wire, and sewing clasps, a team at the zoo was able to stabilize the broken shell, but they needed to figure out a way to keep the turtle elevated so his shell didn't hit the ground. Garrett Fraess, a veterinary extern, came up with a solution, drawing sketches of wheelchairs for the turtle, made out of Legos. A friend of his took the sketches, grabbed some Legos, and got to work.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The turtle now has a custom wheelchair, its frame and wheels all made of the famous plastic bricks. "I was surprised how well it turned out and how well he's able to really express many of his normal behaviors," Fraess told Inside Edition. The turtle should be fully healed in a year, and then will be released back to the wild. Catherine Garcia
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Is Donald Trump finished in New York?
Today's Big Question How the former president's fraud ruling could ruin him in the city that made him famous
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Windmill whales
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why the FTC antitrust lawsuit against Amazon is so consequential
Talking Point While it's not the first case the federal agency brought against the company, it might be the biggest challenge yet
By Theara Coleman Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published