BALTIMORE — Guess who's back in action?
The Maryland Zoo's "LEGO turtle" just finished brumating, which is similar to hibernating.
Now that it's warmer outside, "Lego Turtle" is exercising daily, in hopes of being released back into the wild.
In the summer of 2018, a zoo employee found the turtle in Druid Hill Park, with multiple fractures to the bottom of his shell.
Zoo veterinarians performed surgery, using metal bone plates, sewing clasps, and surgical wire to hold the shell's fragments together.
RELATED: Turtle at Maryland Zoo rolls to recovery in new LEGO wheelchair
But in order to keep the bottom of the shell off the ground, the staff needed to get creative.
A veterinary student and Lego enthusiast came up with the idea to build a frame made up of Lego's. The device surrounded the shell, while putty was used to attach the edges to the shell's top, allowing the turtle to stay off the ground but still use his legs to move.
The 20-year-old turtle has since made remarkable progress, walking completely on his own without the Lego device, despite a slow metabolism.
We're all cheering for you "Lego Turtle".
