# Wheel for a leg- Round 3



## Team Gomberg (Mar 11, 2014)

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


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## lynnedit (Mar 11, 2014)

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


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## ascott (Mar 11, 2014)

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!!!!


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## Maggie Cummings (Mar 11, 2014)

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.


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## Team Gomberg (Mar 12, 2014)

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.


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## wellington (Mar 12, 2014)

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.


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## ascott (Mar 13, 2014)

> 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....


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## Team Gomberg (Mar 13, 2014)

hahaha, ok  thanks for explaining  


and I greatly appreciate the cheers :shy:


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## snaofreno (Mar 17, 2014)

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]


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## Barista5261 (Mar 17, 2014)

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


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## snaofreno (May 21, 2014)

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.


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## Team Gomberg (May 21, 2014)

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!


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## snaofreno (May 21, 2014)

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?


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## Team Gomberg (May 21, 2014)

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!


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