Do tortoises urinate and defecate?
Like most other animals, tortoises do urinate and defecate as part of their way of ridding their bodies of food byproducts and toxins. This is generally not a surprise to new tortoise owners; however, what may come as a surprise is a third waste byproduct that comes along with the first two.
Do turtles Pee?
Yes, turtles pee through their cloaca, which is an orifice that is a combination of a anus, urethra and gills. So turtles do pee, but why don’t we see them do it?
Do all tortoises poop the same?
Not all tortoises poop the same; the poop’s appearance depends on the tortoise’s species, age, size, and diet. We cannot dictate the exact appearance of every tortoise. Generally, the excrement may be green, brown, or a mixture of both due to the vegetables’ color in their diet.
Why are my Tortoise’s urates so thin?
The appearance of your tortoise’s urates depend largely on how much protein makes up their diet, as well as how much water they drink on a daily basis. The more water your tortoise drinks, the thinner and less toothpaste-like their urates will be.
Do tortoises pee?
Tortoises produce both urine (pee) and urate (which is a slightly pasty substance that is white in color). They generate urate based on the amount of protein in their diet, ideally, a tortoise should be fed a low-protein diet because too much protein can lead to a condition called pyramiding.
How often should tortoise urinate?
Twice a day is the most in extreem cases, if your tortoise has been dehydrated. NO OFFENCE IS MEANT BY THIS MESSAGE:flrt: I have never said I am an expert, but I do have over 43yrs experience with tortoises.
Why do tortoises pee?
In fact, tortoises will often wait to urinate until they find more fresh water to drink, or at least until they find some vegetation with high moisture content. They essentially “flush and refill” the tank by peeing and drinking as much as they can.
What do tortoises pee out of?
The urea travels through the reptiles' bloodstreams to their mouths, so it's not technically urination. The team also found that the turtles carry a gene that produces a specialized protein that helps expel urea. The gene was expressed in their mouths, not their kidneys.
Do tortoises poo and wee?
A tortoise may urinate and defecate at the same time, which may leave urate deposits on the fecal material. This will make the feces appear as if it is white or off-white.
How often do tortoises poop and pee?
A sulcata tortoise should poop every two or three days. Some tortoises poop less frequently than others, at the same time going too long without pooping can be a sign of a health problem that needs your attention.
Can tortoise be potty trained?
Tortoises can be potty trained to some extent but it's not an easy task. Potty training tortoises is more like convincing them to do a natural behavior when you ask and less about teaching something completely new.
Do tortoises pee when scared?
Do tortoises urinate when scared? Tortoises sometimes urinate when they are picked up. This is thought to be a defence mechanism, due to the volume of liquid, and the speed at which it is released.
Do tortoises pee white?
Urine contains waste products and toxins that are filtered from the bloodstream. Reptiles also have one more type of excretion product, called urates or uric acid. This is the end product of protein digestion and is also stored in the urinary bladder as a creamy, off-white pasty semi-solid.
Does tortoise pee smell?
Tortoise pee doesn't have a strong smell at first. That means unless you can see a wet spot or you witness your tort taking a wee, you may be surprised by a stinky, damp, hidden spot a week or so later. Like the poo debacle above, urine left in the cage can start to stink.
What is the white liquid that comes out of a tortoise?
Reptile owners frequently wonder about the "white powder" that is excreted by their pets. The material is uric acid and its salts (urates). Be assured that it is normal for tortoises to pass it. Uric acid is the end product of protein metabolism.
Is tortoise poop toxic?
When a reptile, including tortoises, excrete feces, it's often infected with salmonella. Even if you never touch your tortoise and never come in contact with tortoise feces, you can still become infected.
What animals scoop up water?
Did you know? Many animals, such as dogs, cats, birds, and lizards lap or scoop up water with their beaks or tongues.
Do leopard tortoises need water?
Leopard Tortoise photo by Bionerds. We know that reptiles are ectotherms, which means they need much less food and water than comparably-sized mammals since they do not need to consume and burn so many calories to stay warm. That is the first thing they have going for them.
Do tortoises dig?
Tortoises mastered that process ages ago, enabling them to spend their time on more important tasks, like napping. These majestic, armored survivors plod continually along, merrily digging burrows that preserve biodiversity and often asking little more than a patch of grass , some sunshine, and some shade.
How long does it take for a tortoise to urinate?
My tort poos and urinates every morning during his bath it can take up to half an hour and two changes of water because it has got cold ..but it never fails
What does it mean when a tortoise eats a lot of greens?
Urates are normally excreted following urine. Also, torts eat a lot of greens, which have a high amount of water, so they don't drink a whole lot of extra water.
Do Russians urinate?
Messages. 1,250. My Russians usually don 't urinate until they take in replacement fluids; either by eating a wet weed or vegetable or drinking from their soak or their terra cotta planter base saucer. They survive the dry season by being adapted to retain water.
Why do tortoises urinate?
Like most other animals, tortoises do urinate and defecate as part of their way of ridding their bodies of food byproducts and toxins. This is generally not a surprise to new tortoise owners; however, what may come as a surprise is a third waste byproduct that comes along with the first two.
Why is my tortoise passing urine?
If your tortoise is passing urates more than three times a week, lighten up on how much protein you are giving them — too much protein in your tortoise’s diet means their kidneys are working too hard to process and metabolize that protein, which can lead to other health problems down the line.
What happens when a tortoise drinks water?
When your tortoise eats protein, their body will metabolize that protein to use as energy for growth or movement, and will then filter any remaining byproducts through the blood into your tortoise’s kidneys.
What is the liquid that tortoises pee?
From there, the byproducts turn into a liquid called uric acid, which then is concentrated into urates (this concentration is what gives urates their thick consistency). These urates are stored in the bladder and then passed out of the body as waste at the same time that your tortoise urinates, making it look as though the white or pale yellow discharge is part of its regular urine.
What to feed a tortoise to help it not get upset?
Balance out any fruity treats you might give to your tortoise with a healthy mix of fiber-rich vegetables and leafy greens so that they don’t get an upset stomach!
What does it mean when a tortoise's urine is yellow?
If your tortoise is leaving behind dark yellow-brown or greenish-yellow urates along with its waste, this can be a sign of liver disease and you should take your tortoise to a medical professional to be screened for health issues.
What color are tortoises urine?
Urates will generally range from a stark white to a very pale yellow in color, and can be anywhere from the consistency of toothpaste to very thin and watery. The appearance of your tortoise’s urates depend largely on how much protein makes up their diet, as well as how much water they drink on a daily basis.
Do Tortoises Pee Liquid?
My early knowledge of tortoises was that they do not pee and their pee is in the form of a white paste. As my understanding over the years of owning tortoises grew I now know I was a little off in my thinking.
Why Did My Tortoise Pee So Much?
Many people will worry when they first see their tortoise pee and some tortoises can produce lots of pee. Why some tortoises pee more than others is in most instances down to their diet.
Never Seen My Tortoise Pee Before
The worry comes when you have never seen your tortoise pee before. I would say they more than likely have you just haven’t seen them pee.
When To Act When You See Tortoise Pee?
If your tortoise is peeing more than once per day then you should start to take action. A tortoise peeing more than once per day is a sure sign that your tortoise is over hydrated.
Conclusion
While seeing pee for the first time can be scary and worrying in nearly all cases it will be nothing to worry about. Even if it is our care that is causing it should be overcome with simple dietary changes.
Why is my tortoise confused?
It's just your tortoise expressing its natural behaviours. If your tortoise is housed in a vivarium, it can become confused if it can see the outside world through the glass, adding to the problem . Try covering up the bottom part of the glass, to help reduce this confusion.
What does a tortoise sound like?
Tortoises may make a deep panting noise accompanied by a hiss, when they’re about to take food into their mouths. They’ll also stand over the food, and move their forelimbs slightly.
Why is my tortoise head banging?
Tortoises are not social animals and head banging or butting can be a sign of mating rituals or dominance.
Why does my tortoise keep scratching?
You may find your tortoise scratches because its enclosure is too small for it and it feels trapped. Another reason for scratching can be lack of substrate.
Why do tortoises squeak?
Squeaking or whistling can be a sign of respiratory infection, so if your tort is squeaking or whistling, check for signs of nasal discharge and laboured breathing.
Why do tortoises hide in their shell?
This can be a passive defensive behaviour, where a tortoise will retract as much of its body as possible . If your tortoise does this, try to identify what's frightening your tortoise, and remove it.
Why are vivariums bad for tortoises?
This is because it's felt that vivariums can lead to health implications for Mediterranean, African or Russian tortoises due to the higher humidity, the difficulty in achieving a suitable ‘tortoise’ heat gradient and adequate ventilation.
Why Don’t We See Turtles Pee?
Except for the situation mentioned above, it’s almost impossible to see a turtle pee, and there are two good reasons for this.
Why does my turtle pee?
This will happen because your turtle will think that you are a predator and that you are trying to eat it.
How long can a sea turtle stay underwater?
Here is a short video that shows how cloacal breathing works: YouTube. Some turtle species like the Olive ridley sea turtle can stay almost 10 hours submerged underwater, and the air that they get through the cloaca is essential for that.
Why is it so hard to see a turtle?
The first one is that turtles are really small, so they will have a bladder of appropriate size . So the quantity of pee that gets out is very small, which makes it very hard to see. The second reason is that they live in water, where pee is kind of hard to see, especially if you take the small quantity that they let out, into consideration.
Do sea turtles breathe through cloaca?
Aquatic turtles on the other hand still spend a fair amount of time on land as well. And land turtles that don’t spend any time underwater have little to no use for the breathing abilities of the cloaca.
Do turtles drink water?
The Surprising Answer ( With Video) Written by Victor Wang in Turtle Facts. Turtles can be very mysterious creatures, so mysterious that even now we don’t know that much about their behavior. So asking yourself if they drink water is quite understandable, especially since they spend most of their time in water ,where it can be quite hard ...
Do sea turtles spend their life underwater?
Aquatic turtles on the other hand still spend a fair amount of time on land as well. And land turtles that don’t spend any time underwater have little to no use for the breathing abilities of the cloaca.
How long does it take for a tortoise to pee?
It may be once a day, once a week, or take two weeks . Your tortoise may indulge in heavy eating but take some time before it excretes, all depending on its system. This case also applies to peeing, but mostly, the excretion is a mixture of poop and urine.
Why does my tortoise poop in water?
The first effective remedy is soaking. Tortoises are known to poop when in water, as it seems to relax their bowels.
How Can I Help My Tortoise Poop?
Your pet’s poop is a direct indicator of its health. If there is any abnormality, then something may be wrong. These signs include failing to poop, diarrhea, or hard stool.
Why does my tortoise smell so bad?
Another reason for the foul smell may be due to the rotten food particles which you can easily mistake as poop. Tortoises tend to hide some food in their tank or leave bits behind after eating.
How to get rid of a stinky smell in a tortoise enclosure?
Therefore, proper hygiene is the best and only way to deal with foul smells in your tortoise’s enclosure. You should pick up the droppings as soon as you spot them to prevent the smell. Secondly, wash the tank frequently and clean any objects like toys and dishes.
Why do desert tortoises die?
When extremely frightened, they will empty their bowels, leaving their bodies without water reserves. If they fail to get water as soon as possible, they may die from dehydration. Those in captivity are safer because their owners will always provide food and water.
What is the importance of excretion in tortoise poop?
Tortoise Poop: 7 Facts You Should Know (Explained) Excretion is a crucial indicator of a healthy animal and proper digestion. If a tortoise has an illness, it will show in the appearance and frequency of the poop. Therefore, as an owner, you would want to know how to determine your tortoise’s health status by observing its excrements.
How Much Water Should a Tortoise Drink?
The amount of water a tortoise needs to drink is influenced by a multitude of factors, but the most significant of them is temperature. To put it simply the hotter it is outside the more water tortoises need to drink in order to stay hydrated.
Is Tap Water Safe for Tortoises to Drink?
The answer to this question is a little more complex as tap water is not necessarily a type of water, it’s the water that comes out of your sink. But where that water originates and how it’s treated can differ greatly from region to region. So the answer can be yes for one person and no for another person.
Avoid This Common and Dangerous Mistake
Before I go over the last thing that you can do to hydrate your tortoise, I want to tell you about one of the most common and dangerous mistakes that people make, and that is believing that tortoises are like turtles.
Soaking and Misting Your Tortoise
Even if tortoises don’t live in water as turtles do, they still need to get into it from time to time, to properly dehydrate.
Common Questions
Do tortoises drink and pee at the same time? Tortoises have been known to drink and pee at the same time. So if your tortoise is doing this don’t worry it’s perfectly normal. While there is no clear reason why they do this, it is perfectly normal behavior.
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