A tortoise has a second chance in life after a team of designers in Brazil custom-made a shell for the reptile, which was badly burned in a fire.
The Animal Avengers, the animal rescue group that saved the tortoise, consists of a 3-D designer (Cicero Moraes), four veterinarians (Roberto Fecchio, Rodrigo Rabello, Sergio Camargo, and MatheusRabello) and a dental surgeon (Paul Miamoto).
The group combines technology with members’ love for animals to create innovative ways to help maimed creatures. According to the spokesperson, Moraes, they have already saved seven animals that would have been euthanized.
“The tortoise Freddy was found alongside a road in early 2015. It had been the victim of a fire, and its hull caught fire, losing 85 percent of its structure,” the spokesperson said. Freddy was taken to Rodrigo Rabello in Brasilia, Moraes said.
Moraes explained that the tortoise, a female, was named Freddy because the burned “back looked like the face of Freddy Krueger.”
Moraes said the process for printing a 3-D tortoiseshell is “relatively simple.”Dr. Roberto Fecchio who is a veterinarian explained that their friendship revolved around their love for animals and science.
Their special friendship led to this amazing goal. They used modern technology in order to help these mutilated animals to live a normal life.
The 3-D designers took photographs of Freddy and a healthy tortoise and then used computer programming to design a custom prosthetic shell that was printed, layer by layer, by a 3-D printer.
The prosthetic shell was then surgically attached to Freddy. An artist even hand-painted the outside of the shell so that it blended in with nature.
Moraes said his group previously created a 3-D-printed toucan beak, goose beak, parrot beak, and macaw beak. You people may also be familiar with the fact that the shell of a tortoise has specific anatomy.
All turtles and tortoises are born with a carapace or what we call the top of the dorsal shell and a plastron which is the bottom of the ventral shell.
These two should always be hard unless they are hatchlings or a certain species of water turtle that has a softshell.
Both tortoise and turtles cannot live without their shells. This is not something that they can easily slip on and off.
The shell is fused to their bones. This means that they would not be able to survive without it.
The shells protect them from predators, environmental dangers, and even hunters. Thankfully, Freddy was able to recover quickly after a short surgery.
The animal regained its full mobility in no time. Now, Freddy lives a happy life in Dr.Rabello’s home.
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