The four-eyed water turtle has a very mixed diet and a small amount of food. Usually, it likes to eat animal bait. In the natural environment, it mainly eats small fish, shrimp and aquatic insects. When food is lacking, it also eats some small wild fruits. .

The four-eyed terrapin is very timid , once frightened, it will retract its head, tail, and limbs into the shell or quickly escape. In nature, the four-eyed terrapin likes to inhabit pits and ditches in mountainous and hilly areas, and often lives in shadowy places, such as under stones and among tree roots.