Rats ATE This 90-Year-Old Tortoise’s Legs, But One Family Gave Her a Brand New Lease on Life

When rats viciously gnawed off the front legs of Mrs. T, a 90-year-old hibernating tortoise, her human family feared she didn’t stand a chance.

Via: The Irish Mirror

She had been with the Ryder family of Pembroke, Wales for almost 30 years, but even after June Ryder took her for a $1500 visit to the vet — and had given her a course of antibiotics for the infection — poor Mrs. T had no way of getting around…

So June asked her mechanical engineer son Dale Sinclair-Jones, who was only 8-years-old when Mrs. T joined the family, to help out.

Dale had a plan: he took a pair of wheels from a mechanical plane, and attached them to Mrs. T’s shell with resin…

She had her legs amputated last Friday and I built some wheels which she’s slowly getting used to having tweaked, and modified them slightly to make them fit better on the floor. But she does seem to be adjusting to them.

Via: The Telegraph

And, lo and behold, Mrs. T has a new lease on life!

Via: BBC

But just how did Mrs. T befall this horrible fate in the first place?

Surprisingly, rat attacks on hibernating tortoises are actually pretty common; in 2013, Britain’s oldest tortoise died after a rat attack at age 130. Like Mrs. T, his wounds became infected and, even after antibiotics, he had to be put to sleep.

But thanks to Sinclair-Jones’ feat of tortoise-engineering, Mrs. T has escaped a similar fate, and is back to enjoying her cushy life in a Welsh garden…

We were afraid she may have to be put down, but her new set of wheels have saved her life. She has the run of the garden again and we can always find her because she leaves very strange tracks behind wherever she goes.

The brilliant solution should last Mrs. T for the rest of her long life, Ryder told the Telegraph:

It was like fitting her with a turbo charger – she’s going double the speed she used to. Mrs T is still quite young for a tortoise. She could go on for another 50 years – all she needs is a new set of tyres every now and again.

Just look at her burning up the road! Does anyone else see a starring role Fast and the Furious 8?

Via: The Telegraph

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