After the
vicious attack, a local vet worked to save the 90-year-old pet tortoise's life
named Mrs. T in Pembrook, but was anxious that would not be able to survive
without her mobility. When the tortoise was hibernating for the winter, she
ended up losing her front legs. A rat had eaten both legs up to the elbow
joint, after breaking in to the garden shed where she was sleeping. We were
afraid she may have to be put down. Its owner, Jude Ryder, feared the worst.
A £1,000
vet bill did little to increase the situation. That is when the Ryder family
turned to their mechanical engineer son Dale for help; he glued wheels from a
model aircraft onto the tortoise’s shell, making her twice as fast. Using the
wheels from a model airplane, Dale attached them to Mrs. T's shell with resin,
facilitating her to move around freely and leave interesting tracks in her
wake. Dale had received Tortoise as a gift when he was only eight years old,
and she was already in her 60s. Now it
was like fitting her with a turbo charger and she’s going double the speed she
used to. Tortoise is still quite young for a when she could go on for another 50 years all she
needs is a new set of tyres every now and again. Rat attacks on tortoises are
not rare. Because Britain’s oldest tortoise, 130 year-old Thomas, died from a
rat bite in 2013.
It was like
fitting her with a turbo charger and now she's going double the speed she used
to. She uses her back legs to push herself along and it seems quite happy, but
it's problematic to tell with a tortoise.