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Two-legged tortoise gets fitted with new wheels

A tortoise which lost its front legs after a rat chewed on them has been given its mobility back with the help of a set of toy wheels.

The 23-year-old Hermann's tortoise, named Eddie, was attacked while asleep in a garden in Warrington, Cheshire.

The front legs could not be saved but Dr Sergio Silvetti, of Rutland House Veterinary Hospital, St Helens, has fitted Meccano wheels.

Eddie is now much faster on wheels, the reptile's owner said.

The tortoise was taken in by the McNicholas family last year after its previous owner could no longer care for it and quickly became a much-loved member of the family, alongside their 16-year-old Horsefield tortoise, French Bulldog and Yorkshire Terrier.

Ben McNicholas described the horror when his wife Emma found Eddie after the tortoise managed to get out of the house and into the garden overnight.

Mr McNicholas told BBC Radio Merseyside: "It was absolutely awful.

"We just presumed the worst... luckily we found Rutland House and they managed to see us straight away."

His two children, aged eight and 11, feared Eddie, who loves chasing their dogs around the house, would not return from the vets.

Much to their relief the operation to amputate his front legs went well and Dr Silvetti later fitted Eddie with the wheels.

Dr Silvetti has previously treated tortoises with similar injuries, he said.

"When tortoises are too cold or go to sleep, they simply close themselves up," he said.

"The only soft bits available on a tortoise are the front legs. Rats start nibbling from there."

He said Eddie's recovery was one of the quickest he had seen, adding: "He completely recovered from the anaesthesia after another 15 to 20 minutes and he was able to walk and wheel about an hour from then."

Mr McNicholas said Eddie was recovering well from the ordeal and his children were "over the moon".

"We are so thankful. It's great what they can do."

Eddie was getting around "even faster" on wheels, he added.

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