The head of the female watermelon turtle is olive, while the male is usually gray. It turns white during the breeding season, and the muzzle will be black around and red stripes will appear on the forehead. The hatchlings are dark grey in colour. Watermelon turtle hatchlings have a yellow band on each rib shield and marginal shield. These bands disappear with age. Young turtles have black-edged yellow stripes on the neck and limbs and tail. Adult limbs and tail are grey to green, with more defined stripes on the forelegs.

The breeding of watermelon turtles is not difficult, and the spring and summer seasons are their best Breeding Season. This turtle is very romantic, and even the way of confession is so elegant and high-end, which makes people fascinated. Under normal circumstances, the male turtle will lead the female turtle to a spacious place, extend its forelimbs, swing its claws back and forth in front of the female turtle, and then the male turtle will take the opportunity to bite the female turtle's neck to complete the mating. Each clutch lays 4-9 eggs and hatches in about two months at 28°C.