"Because desert tortoise live in an arid climate where most of the
rainfall occurs during the monsoons, it is able to store water in its
bladder for use during drought. It can go over a year without drinking. One
of its defense mechanisms when handled or disturbed is to release the
contents of its bladder, which can deplete its water supply and can
cause harm or death during a drought. For this reason, if you find a
desert tortoise, do not pick it up."
Interesting that it can harvest water from the bladder. Mammalian
bladders have a transitional epithelium that is virtually impermeable to
water. But I found an
NCBI
article that documents reabsorption of water from Gila monster
bladders, so presumably the same adaptation has evolved in tortoises.
Hi there,
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