Wheel for a leg- Round 3

[Levi the Leopard]

Isn't is amazing when you see a tortoise drinking water :shy: At least I think it's a beautiful sight...
Luke Skywalker here prefers a puddle on the ground to a water dish any day

Onto the story of the wheel.
The ball bearing caster wheel works great but there were still some kinks to work out.
1- Attaching the wheel by his missing limb caused him to wobble
2- When he lifted his rear left leg to take a step, he lost support for his back side and it would "crash" down onto his leg. I didn't like this and neither did he.

So for round 3, I moved his wheel to the center and he no longer wobbles. Then I stacked 2 furniture slides on his plastron by his rear left leg. Now, when he lifts the leg to take a step, his shell is still supported.

He really likes moving around now. We've been testing this for 2 weeks and so far so good. I may not need to try a round 4, time will tell

Here is a quick video to show him walking with the "revisions". Some green leaf lettuce worked as a bribe to catch the movement on camera!

View My Video

I know it's not the best video but hey, I hope you enjoy it anyway

 

[lynnedit]

That is a great video! He looks very stable now.

 

[ascott]

I agree.....this will not only stop the body slam...but will also save his back leg knee area from injury from the jolt and also from scraping on the ground.....


a little fun representation of that beauty there...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWr8mlMRsW8

Success!!!!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I took care of a female CDT who had her front leg chewed off by a dog. We put a furniture slide right under her plastron at that spot, no wheel at all, and she got along just fine. I am hoping Yvonne sent you her picture, I couldn't find it in my new and hated computer programs.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Hmmm. ascott, I didn't understand the connection between the car video and the tortoise. ? :shy:

Maggie, yes I saw the photos of your female a while back. This guy lost his leg from a dog, too.

 

[wellington]

Heather, your not alone with loving a tortoise drinking. Not sure why though. Maybe we see it as a good healthy sign
I couldn't see the vid (ipad). But I know he has a great caring mom that will do whatever is need for him.

 

[ascott]

Hmmm. ascott, I didn't understand the connection between the car video and the tortoise. ?

The driver of the car kept on trying until the goal was achieved and then the crowd went crazy.....lol in other words, a great cheering section is always good....and you have loads of us cheering you and tort on....

 

[Levi the Leopard]

hahaha, ok thanks for explaining

---

and I greatly appreciate the cheers :shy:

 

[snaofreno]

Yes, my favorite pass time is watching my Touche' drinking water.
She does not like dishes either. She drinks from puddles. Also, we fill the handprints in cement walkways [TURTLE]we made as kids....perfect for drinking water [TURTLE]

 

[Barista5261]

[Yoda] Strong with the Force, this one is. Hrrrrrrrmmmm! [/Yoda]

 

[snaofreno]

What is the latest on the wheel for a leg? The last note I can find is that the wheel wasn't working out. My friend has a RF with same problem. She used a polished river rock but it is not working out either. Seems I saw your link mentioned a plastic furniture bumper thingy? I can not find your original link. Anxious for update. Thx.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

The ball bearing caster wheel worked like a charm! I attached it to the plastron with hot glue. It held firmly yet was simple to pop off for soaks. His yard has a concrete patio and a large section of grass. Rolling around on the concrete was fine and as long as the grass was mowed regularly, he did fine there too. Problems arose when I built him a burrow. The "underground" burrow was full of dirt and it would clog the wheel. I removed the wheel for the benefit of the burrow. If there are no dirt areas in the enclosure, then this wheel would work great for any tortoise!

 

[snaofreno]

We have dirt and grass enclosure. I am wondering about the half pool ball someone had mentioned awhile back. He said he found that to work well.
Do you remember who that was?

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I just spoke with a lady just the other day about using a half pool ball. She used it with a desert tortoise and has great things to say about it!