How do desert animals survive without water for weeks or months?

The answer

The kangaroo rat never needs to drink water in its entire life. It generates metabolic water from dry seeds through cellular respiration, producing roughly 54 milliliters of water per 100 grams of seeds consumed. Its kidneys concentrate urine to 5 times the concentration of seawater, and nasal passages recapture 90% of moisture from exhaled breath. The Namib Desert beetle harvests fog by tilting its textured body at 23 degrees into wind, directing water droplets along hydrophobic ridges to its mouth. Camels survive 7-10 days without water by tolerating 25% body water loss (humans die at 12%) and fluctuating body temperature by 6°C to reduce sweating by 5 liters daily.