On a roll! Schildi the bionic tortoise gets around thanks to LEGO wheel

Earlier this year, we shared the story of Chris P. Bacon, a young piglet without the use of his hind legs who now scoots around using a makeshift wheelchair made from a vet's children's K'Nex pieces.

Now we're sharing the story of an abandoned tortoise with a missing leg who can walk again thanks to a LEGO wheel.

The tortoise, now named Schildi, was recently brought to a veterinary clinic in Baden, Germany, with some serious injuries.

"He was in pretty bad shape when they brought him to us. The lower part of his front leg was missing, and the upper part was very bad, with bone showing, and maggots in necrotic flesh," Dr. Panagiotis Azmanis told The Local.

Veterinarians stabilized the animal, then amputated Schildi's injured leg. Then came the challenge of helping the tortoise become mobile again.

"Tortoises need to run free in gardens, so he needed a prosthetic," said Azmanis.

Azmanis turned to a child's toy box for the solution: a LEGO wheel.

"First we fitted a double wheel but it was difficult for him to turn corners so we replaced it with a single wheel and that is much better for him," said Azmanis.

He used surgical glue to stick a base block to the tortoise's underside. He then added blocks to help achieve the correct height.

Now moving again freely, the "bionic tortoise" is living happily at an animal shelter. Azmanis assumes Schildi will need a new wheel "about once a year."