How often should my tortoise urinate?

[bextort]

I've had Shelby for four weeks now.
She lives indoor free to roam the house but does spend the majority of the day in the garden.

Her food and water are in the same place and she is familiar with that and always goes there for her food but I have only seen her drink once (I think she was drinking). I was paranoid about how little she was drinking so started to soak her food her food in water.

In the four weeks I have had her I have only seen her wee once. I'm not sure if urinating is visible during soaking but If so I'm pretty sure she hasn't.

Should she be drinking/urinating more often? She doesn't have any problem pooing

 

[Jabuticaba]

Hi. I, too, used to worry about how much they drank especially because their previous owner didn't keep a water dish in their enclosure. I have dishes in their enclosures and I see them take tiny sips, once in a while. It may be harder for you to see because your tort is outside, so it's harder to catch them in the act. They're not like dogs that have a marked characteristic stance.

After about a week, after getting my torts, I noticed that anytime I'd see urates (pasty, white substance) meant that they had urinated. 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.


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

---

Ps: mine urinate once a day.


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

 

[RiverBreezy]

I don't think my tort uses his water bowl. I suspect it's too low for him since I sunk it in the ground. But he likes it when I mist him with the hose and will usually urinate during misting. I shoot for at least once a week.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TortForum mobile app

 

[bextort]

I've never seen her go in her water dish and have never seen urates either :/

 

[WillTort2]

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. If you don't see them urinate, try feeding them on a 1 ft square of slate, then you'll notice the wet spot while their eating.

 

[lfmonty]

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