If you’ve never owned a reptile, it might surprise you to learn that many reptiles do not pee liquid like humans do. Instead, they release waste in the form of tiny crystals.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society revealed that more than 20 species of reptiles produce solid waste that contains tiny spheres made of uric acid.
This unusual way of getting rid of waste helps reptiles survive in dry environments. Even more exciting, scientists believe these findings might help us find new ways to treat kidney stones and gout in people.
All animals need to remove waste from their bodies. Humans do this by flushing waste out through urine, which contains nitrogen-based substances like urea, uric acid, and ammonia. But reptiles, like snakes and lizards, take a different approach.
They turn some of their nitrogen waste into a solid called “urate,” which they pass through a single opening called the cloaca. This solid form helps them save water, which is very useful for animals that live in hot, dry places.
The same uric acid that helps reptiles survive can cause problems for humans. When too much uric acid builds up in our bodies, it can form painful crystals in the joints, causing gout.
It can also turn into kidney stones, which block the flow of urine and cause a lot of pain. So researchers wanted to understand how reptiles manage to create these uric acid crystals safely.
Jennifer Swift, who led the study, explained that their goal was to learn how reptiles deal with uric acid and to see if their method could help humans too. Her team collected urates from over 20 different reptile species and looked at them under high-powered microscopes.
They discovered that reptiles like ball pythons, Angolan pythons, and Madagascan tree boas produce waste made up of small, textured spheres. These spheres are tiny—only 1 to 10 micrometers wide—and are made of even smaller crystals built from uric acid and water. The researchers also found that uric acid helps change harmful ammonia into a safer, solid form.
This discovery could be a big step forward in understanding how to manage uric acid in humans. While more studies are needed, this research opens the door to possible new treatments for kidney stones and gout by learning from how reptiles handle the same problem.
The study was supported by the National Science Foundation, Georgetown University, the International Centre for Diffraction Data, and the Chiricahua Desert Museum.
If you care about kidney health, please read studies about drug that prevents kidney failure in diabetes, and drinking coffee could help reduce risk of kidney injury.
For more information about kidney health, please see recent studies about foods that may prevent recurrence of kidney stones, and common painkillers may harm heart, kidneys and more.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
