Urate in food dish?

Joined
May 13, 2021
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Beans got to work chowing down on the dried food from yesterday before I could get up to grab him some new food this morning, but he also had left pee/urate. I use a large terracotta saucer for feeding so it soaked in quite a bit, although it was still quite easy to clean. He's only done this a few times and I've always washed it out as soon as I've seen it, but I've read a few times on the forum they sometimes like to eat their own waste (although I specifically have NOT heard about this for urates, only poops).

So I was wondering if it's worth cleaning out immediately for the sake of having a clean enclosure or if the springtails will eventually get to cleaning it for me, or if it poses any sort of concern for my tort. If I'm in a rush in the morning, would it be terrible to just toss new food on top and clean the dish in the evening? It's dry because it's quite a small amount on a terracotta dish and it's not too far from the basking lamp, but should I be concerned about bacteria? I had a late morning so it's likely been there for at least an hour or two now.

He's a Russian if that makes a difference, and he does not usually urate/pee/poop in his enclosure at all as far as I can tell because I usually soak him in the morning and he does it kindly in the bath.
 

Lyn W

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I don't know the answer to the question re springtails, (I don't know what they are) but on a practical note - to save you time in the morning, you could remove any uneaten food in the night and wash the dish ready for the morning or have a second dish ready to swap in with fresh food in the morning.
I would keep the food away from the lamps as it will dry it up.
 

wellington

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What Lyn W said. Or just take the dish out and feed him when you can.
It won't really be a problem unless it gets nasty. Just being dried out isn't a problem.
As for poop/urates, you should clean that out when spotted.
 
Joined
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Thank you!! That's definitely what I've been doing, just wasn't sure since I've heard a lot of people leaving those things in the enclosures with no problem and wanted to make sure I wasn't being nitpicky.

I'll start taking the dish out at night to clean and putting it back in the morning as well.
 
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