WATCH: InVINCEable Banbury tortoise loves his Lego wheel, now watch him go!
Vince lost his leg in an escape from his home in Hillview Crescent and neighbours, who found him minus his hind leg, took him to Vets4Pets in Banbury where he was treated for infection and nursed back to health - but he was crippled.
Owner Kara Paynton said: “We were discussing what we could do to allow him to move easily and Nathan Portlock-Allan, an engineer from Broughton, was in the vets’ surgery and he offered to help.
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“He made Vince a prototype foot out of a Lego wheel and fixed it on using rubber bands. But he’s going to make a permanent wheel to be fixed on with resin in the new year,” said Ms Paynton, now of Bloxham Road, Banbury.
“He’s getting on well with it on a flat surface. The test will come when he’s more active in the warm weather as he loves climbing.”
The surgery was performed by vet Rosie Waters, assisted by nurse Mel Boughton who said: “Poor Vince is still small and had suffered a real ordeal but he is getting on really well now.”
“When he was brought in the wound was infected so we had to treat that for a few days before we could operate.
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“The recommendation is not to hibernate him this winter since we do need to keep an eye on the area to ensure it’s continuing to heal well.”
Mrs Boughton said Mr Portlock-Allan’s prototype Lego leg replacement would be replaced in the new year before the tortoise gets more active.
The permanent fixture will be attached to his carapace, beneath the seven-year-old tortoise’s shell, using resin.