Can RT's get overhydrated?

[duckie68]

Hi everyone  . I have a question that I hope you all with years of experience can answer for me.

Its been a couple of weeks now since my boy Scuttle has been with me. Everything is going great with him and he never misses a meal. I feed him once daily and sprinkle TNT supplement on his mixed greens every other meal or so. I do rinse his greens and shake off the excess water just before I give it to him just so he gets some water with his meal - but also to help the TNT supplement stick to his food.

My question is can he be getting too much hydration? In his first few days with me he had a typical reptile pee that was urate and liquid, but over the course of the 2 weeks he's been with me the urates have reduced to the point that in the past few days he's had just clear liquid and no urates at all. I don't want to be overdoing his water intake if too much water is a bad thing.
I'm sure in the wild they wouldn't be able to munch on greens that are moist with water all the time - so I don't know if I'm actually making his system off balance by not replicating what a non captive RT would find in the wild.

Also - if his tort pee continues to be urate free should this be a cause for concern? Its only been completely clear for a few days so he could surprise me by letting out a clump of urate in tomorrows dine and deficate - but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask now in case this should be something to keep a close eye on.

[shooter66]

Not sure how old your RT is. Maybe try feeding every other day. Mine don't get as much excercise in the colder months when I bring them indoors. So I feed them every other day. My RTs are full grown and very healthy.

[duckie68]

Being his probable third care giver I'm not 100% sure of his age but my guess is anywhere between 5-7 years old. He is just under 5" shell length and almost 400grams.

I am just wondering whether or not it would be a concern if the past few days of urinating were clear liquid and no urates when these guys are hard wired to thrive in arid conditions where rainfall isn't plentiful. I don't want to be harming his kidneys by moistening his greens and overdoing his water intake.

I'm looking forward to the warmer months here so he can experience an outdoor pen. I'm not sure how much his previous keepers did that with him, but it would make me happy seeing him enjoy some natural sunlight. Thanks for the response though - maybe I should try giving him a meal every other day and see how it works for him.