Cheshire: Tortoise who had legs amputated has wheels installed

Eddie, a 23-year-old Hermanns tortoise, had to have his two front legs amputated after losing the blood supply to them.

He received two wounds to his front legs in May this year after he escaped his indoor closure at night and got into the garden.

When his owner Emma McNicholas, from Bewsey, Warrington, found him the next morning he was covered in blood.

Her husband rushed to take him to an emergency exotic vet in St Helens and the family had to leave him there for a number of days while he was cleaned up and treated.

He had two wounds on the front of his legs so the vet was using a special ointment to heal him.

Eddie is back to his happy self now he has his new wheels

It is now believed that the wounds were caused by a rat nibbling on his legs while he slept – which is apparently quite common for tortoises.

After some treatment, the family, who have had Eddie for almost a year, were able to bring him home and were taught how to apply his medications and change his dressings and bandages.

And although Eddie was healing well, the vet told Emma and her family that his legs were dying from the toes upwards and would eventually fall off which would leave him at risk of infections

“He was also struggling to get around like he used to which was affecting his mood after being such an active tortoise,” Emma said.

So his owners came to the decision that he would go back in for surgery to have his legs amputated and some wheels fitted on July 1.

Eddie after his accident

He returned to his Bewsey home the next day and the vet had made him a bracket from a Meccano toy set attached to the underside of his shell.

Eddie also now has Meccano wheels that clip on and off.

So from last weekend, he was finally able to get back out in the garden again and try his new wheels – which he loves.

Emma added: “He is back to his happy self already.

“He is really popular at the vets now and when I take him in people come over to take pictures as I don’t think many people have seen a tortoise with wheels!”