Schildi is not your average turtle. After having been abandoned and losing a leg, some awesome German vets found a way to make him a better, stronger, faster tortoise. Now, fitted with a Lego wheel for a leg, he's a bionic hero in a half shell. And he's stolen my heart.


The vets were able to stabilize cute little Schildi, amputate his injured leg, and observe his recovery. But, turtles can't roam around gardens and bathe near ponds with only three legs. So, it was clear that for adorable tiny Schildi to survive life outside hospital, he'd need a prosthetic. Dr. Azmanis used a special surgical glue to stick the base block underneath tiny Schildi and then superglue to connect the corners of the block:

"After that we could add blocks to achieve the correct height," he said. And now the single wheel has proven to be successful, Schildi has been taken back to the animal shelter. "We will see him again once in a while for check-ups," Azmanis said. "If he gets a 'flat tyre' it will be a simple matter to replace the wheel. They move around quite a lot so I'd expect to see him for a new wheel about once a year."


Dr. Panagiotis Azmanis who works at a veterinary clinic in Achern am Baden "ended up raiding the toy box of his clinic manager's daughter for wheels and spacer blocks:"

"First we fitted a double wheel but it was difficult for him to turn corners so we replaced it with a single wheel and that is much better for him," Dr Panagiotis Azmanis told The Local. Initially though the focus was on saving the tortoise's life. "He was in pretty bad shape when they brought him to us. The lower part of his front leg was missing, and the upper part was very bad, with bone showing, and maggots in necrotic flesh."

Now, if you'll excuse me I'll just be over here feeling all the feelings. It's often the little things that show you how sweet life can be. [The Local]