The western box turtle is best kept in shallow water, and it mainly inhabits open grasslands, woodlands, grazing pastures, and waterways in dry, barren sandy areas.

When rearing western box turtles, the environment can be drier The rearing tank, but the water basin is still indispensable to avoid dehydration. It is an omnivorous tortoise, but in general the western box turtle prefers animal food and will only eat some berries on rare occasions.