An Explanation of Urates

[Reinz]

I just read a thread about urates that seemed to have pieces of the puzzle here and there. I’ll try to shed some light that may answer some leftover questions.

Now I’m not going to get mega geeky on the science. Though I understand the science stuff I probably could not explain it well enough. So I will give a watered down version (hey a joke! water/urine/urates).

Most if not all animals pass urates, including humans. Urates are obviously a waste product. They are made up of Nitrogen, Hydrogen, and other elements in the periodic table.

The reason that you don’t see the Urates in human urine is because they are microscopic and thus can pass in liquid form.
Here are two of probably many reasons: one, we drink a lot of water and daily at that. Your snake drinks infrequently in small amounts. Humans pass urine multiple times daily. Most snakes go anywhere from weekly to monthly. Of course more often during fast growth stages, especially Retics!
Two, our kidneys are much more complex than a snake. Each one of our kidneys have a million micro filters called glomeruli. One glomeruli is called a glomerulus, which is extremely complex on it's own. These micro filters, along with constant feeding of water allow for the breakdown of Urates into a micro form.

I have no idea how the snake kidney is comprised. But it must be a simple system compared to humans since the Urates build up into a huge chunk.

Another example of visible Urates are in birds. That white blob in their poo are Urates, so much for thinking that Urates are bone. While some birds do eat reptiles, bugs and seeds are the mainstay for common birds such as sparrows, bluebirds, etc.

This is very general explanation painted with a broad brush. I’m sure someone can say this animal does this or that, but to answer the question of what and why snakes have big white chunks, I hope the helps.

Bottom line, the amount of water intake along with frequency, and the anatomy of the renal system (kidneys et al) is why there is such a difference.