The 90-year-old turtle was fitted with wheels to make fake legs

A 90-year-old turtle was fitted with a prosthetic leg from the model aircraft wheel, after its front legs were crushed by rats.

The 90-year-old turtle was fitted with an artificial leg

"It was like it was equipped with a turbine engine. It now went twice as fast as before" said Jude Ryder, the owner of the turtle named Mrs. T. "It uses hind legs to push, it seems quite fun."

Ryder, 56, was horrified to discover that the front legs of the pet were crushed by rats last month, when the tortoise was hibernating in the back garden in Pembroke, West Wales, England.

Mrs. T, a 90-year-old turtle, now goes twice as fast after being fitted with an artificial leg.(Photo: Telegraph)

The local veterinarian tried his best to save the turtle, but was worried he could not live without his legs. Mrs. Ryder asked her 37-year-old mechanical engineer, Dale, to help him and he figured out how to get the wheel to be the front leg for Mrs. T. When Dale was 8 years old, Mrs. Ryder bought a turtle for him, at that time the turtle was about 60 years old.

"He got used to his new legs immediately, but he had to learn to turn left and right and stop. It went much faster than before. Considering the life of the turtle, Mrs. T was quite young. can live another 50 years, all it needs is a new set of tires, " said Mrs. Ryder happily.

"We were afraid to give him a humanitarian death, but the new set of feet saved it. It was back in the garden, we always found it because of the noise it emitted."

According to the Telegraph, mice occasionally attack turtles. In 2013, the oldest British turtle named Thomas died of a rat bite. The 130-year-old turtle had to undergo strong antibiotic treatment but did not survive because of an infection.