Snakes do pee, but not in the way mammals do. Their unusual method reveals a clever adaptation used by reptiles and birds.
Do snakes pee?
Snakes do indeed pee – but more interestingly, perhaps, many “pee” in crystal form. Snakes, like every living creature, need to get rid of waste. Unlike human bodies, which eliminate excess nitrogen by flushing it out through urine as urea, uric acid and ammonia, reptiles and birds do it slightly differently.
They transform some of those nitrogen-based compounds into solids known as urates, which are then expelled through a shared opening that’s known as the cloaca.
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Why do snakes pee in crystallised form?
Scientists believe this solid form of waste evolved as an adaptation to conserve water in dry environments. They also have no urinary bladder in the same way mammals do.
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Top image credit: Getty Images
