Up to speed: Tuly the tortoise is now faster than all her friends after having a wheel fitted to replace a leg after a rat gnawed it off while she hibernatedTuly the tortoise is really coming out of her shell after she was fitted with a child's toy tractor wheel after a run-in with a rat left her with only three legs.
Vets fitted the tiny wheel with the help of some velcro to take the place of her severed front right limb last month - and she's already racing around on her new prosthetic attachment.
Her ordeal happened when the voracious rodent decided to chew off the appendage while the tortoise, thought to be about 45 years old, was fast asleep during her winter hibernation.
Cracked it: Norfolk Tortoise Club's chief re-homing officer Eleanor Tirtasana proudly shows off Tuly after her wheely great operationBut experts think she somehow managed to fight off the rodent and save her life despite her sleepy state.
After vets had operated to save her life at the end of last year, Norfolk Tortoise Club in Norwich called vets to fit the wheel to get her fully mobile again.
Eleanor Tirtasana, the club's chief re-homing officer, said: 'She can now scoot around freely and gives her mates a run for their money at feeding time.'
The op was carried out last month after her father Philip Chubb had engineered the new limb after buying a toy tractor at a car boot sale.
Tortoise Equipped With Wheels
source: dailymail
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