GULFPORT, Miss. — A Gulf Coast box turtle in Mississippi is now using a custom 3D-printed wheelchair after losing its back legs
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Moses is a double amputee at the Mississippi Aquarium. He was hit by a car, and his injuries left him unable to survive in the wild, according to WLOX, a CBS affiliate in Mississippi.
Before getting the 3D-printed wheelchair, aquarium staff modified his habitat and even attached marbles under his shell to help him slide around.
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“He spent a good chunk of his time just kind of sitting and chilling, because trying to move the extra weight with two legs, he wasn’t up for that,” Christina Lavallee, Curator of Birds, Ambassadors & Herpetology at the Mississippi Aquarium, told WLOX.
Lavallee added that when Moses would be brought outside, “you could tell that he was ready to go,” so the staff turned to technology.
Coral Aquarist Jon Austin White used 3D modeling and several prototypes to help make a wheelchair that was custom-fit to Moses’ shell.
“He tried to kick it off at first, but really, once he got used to it and once he realized that he can move a lot better in it, he just took off,” White said.
Lavallee said the wheelchair has helped increase Moses’ wellness.
“Because he can be more active and it helps his mental stimulation beacuse he’s able to go and explore things,” she added.
Moses now helps teach aquarium visitors about the important role box turtles play in the state’s ecosystem.
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