# no urates?



## marcy4hope (Feb 19, 2012)

i got my sulcata a month and a half ago. when i first got him, i noticed some urates in his pee. (he'd been kept on sand and extremely dry in the pet store.) but, other than a couple of times when i first got him, i no longer see any urates in his pee. I've had him 6 weeks now, he's growing great. i give him a "bath" usually once a day. he ALWAYS pees when i dry him off. (i've learned to hold him over his bath tub while drying him off, or i'll get soaked.)  but, i never see any urates in his pee at all anymore. he has water available at all times in his enclosure. and i know he uses it a lot. is not seeing urates okay??

i feed him spring mix and have just started adding some mazuri about once a week to it. i also add a little calcium/d3 to his feed every 2-3 days. he has a uvb light over him as well.


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## tyler0912 (Feb 19, 2012)

Everyone has threads about SOMETIMES seeing urates so i shpuld imagine no urates are absolutely fine!!


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## cherylim (Feb 19, 2012)

marcy4hope said:


> i got my sulcata a month and a half ago. when i first got him, i noticed some urates in his pee. (he'd been kept on sand and extremely dry in the pet store.) but, other than a couple of times when i first got him, i no longer see any urates in his pee. I've had him 6 weeks now, he's growing great. i give him a "bath" usually once a day. he ALWAYS pees when i dry him off. (i've learned to hold him over his bath tub while drying him off, or i'll get soaked.)  but, i never see any urates in his pee at all anymore. he has water available at all times in his enclosure. and i know he uses it a lot. is not seeing urates okay??
> 
> i feed him spring mix and have just started adding some mazuri about once a week to it. i also add a little calcium/d3 to his feed every 2-3 days. he has a uvb light over him as well.



The urates are because he stores water/waste to dispose of it at an appropriate time, usually when he can find water to hydrate him. If he's still urinating but without the urates, that's absolutely fine - means he's getting the hydration he needs.  You will see them sometimes, though. You just don't want them to be gritty in consistency. That's when you should be more concerned.


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## Tom (Feb 19, 2012)

Yep. Totally fine. When they are well hydrated, like yours, they don't need to conserve water by concentrating their waste products into urates.

Also, no need to dry them off after a soak. The wetness is actually good for their shell and helps them grow smooth. It's no different than spraying them. I do rinse mine off after a soak, but then leave them wet as I put them back into their enclosure. I use a small "Hudson sprayer" to spray any yuck and soak water off of them. This helps me keep their plastrons nice and clean too, like after they poop and sit in it, or when they have Mazuri and feel they have to climb on top of the pile in order to eat from the far edge...


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## tortuga_please (Feb 19, 2012)

Urates are a way for their body to store as much moisture as possible in the desert. Since he gets soaked and get be hydrated without storing it, there's no need for the extra work of creating urates.


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## marcy4hope (Feb 19, 2012)

thanks a lot guys. i read several threads about urates and was a bit confused about whether no urates was a good or bad thing, or in between.  i appreciate the clarification. that helped. and when i dry him off after a soak, it's mainly his legs. otherwise when i put him back, that coco coir ends up caking up all over his legs and he's a mess. probably bugs me much more than it does him. i like to soak him sometimes before i feed him, because he has a bad habit of peeing and pooing on his food when he eats. usually when he's about done eating, he pees all over it. will really be glad if and when he outgrows that habit. thanks!


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## cherylim (Feb 19, 2012)

marcy4hope said:


> thanks a lot guys. i read several threads about urates and was a bit confused about whether no urates was a good or bad thing, or in between.  i appreciate the clarification. that helped. and when i dry him off after a soak, it's mainly his legs. otherwise when i put him back, that coco coir ends up caking up all over his legs and he's a mess. probably bugs me much more than it does him. i like to soak him sometimes before i feed him, because he has a bad habit of peeing and pooing on his food when he eats. usually when he's about done eating, he pees all over it. will really be glad if and when he outgrows that habit. thanks!



He's just making sure you don't go eating the rest.


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