The organism of ray turtles is relatively well adapted to water scarcity. The animals can also cover part of their water requirements by ingesting food containing water (e.g. succulents). When water is available, the animals always take in more than is currently needed and store it in the bladder. The animals then draw on this water supply during drought. During long periods of drought, the animals hide in hiding places and go into a kind of dry torpor to save water and resources. Especially young animals seem to fall into this energy saving mode faster and more often than adults in dry conditions. With the help of these water and energy saving mechanisms, radiated tortoises can easily survive several months without direct water intake. Attention: A too dry keeping in connection with low air humidity always results in an increased liquid requirement for radiation turtles. A dry keeping also automatically means a stress situation for the animals, which they absolutely want to compensate.
