Injured turtle gets around on Lego wheelchair while healing

In this Sept. 6, 2018 photo provided by the Maryland Zoo, a wild turtle with a broken shell gets around on a wheelchair made of Legos while on the mend at the zoo in Baltimore. News outlets reported that veterinarians had performed surgery on the grapefruit-sized eastern box turtle found in July with fractures to the underside of his shell. (Sinclair Miller/The Maryland Zoo via AP)

In this Sept. 6, 2018 photo provided by the Maryland Zoo, a wild turtle with a broken shell gets around on a wheelchair made of Legos while on the mend at the zoo in Baltimore. News outlets reported that veterinarians had performed surgery on the grapefruit-sized eastern box turtle found in July with fractures to the underside of his shell. (Sinclair Miller/The Maryland Zoo via AP)

BALTIMORE (AP) — A wild turtle with a broken shell is rolling around on a wheelchair made of Legos while he’s on the mend at the Maryland Zoo.

News outlets report that veterinarians had performed surgery on the grapefruit-sized eastern box turtle found in July with fractures to the underside of his shell.

Zoo veterinary extern Garrett Fraess says keeping the shell bottom off the ground is important so it can heal. Fraess says no one makes turtle-sized wheelchairs, so he sent sketches to a friend who’s a Lego enthusiast.

A few weeks after the surgery, the turtle had the wheelchair, which gets the shell off the ground and allows his legs to move.

Dr. Ellen Bronson says the turtle likely will use the wheelchair into the spring.