They therefore are adept at digging long tunnels for themselves to shelter in from these climactic extremes. One thing they cannot tolerate for long is humidity, as their habitats are very dry even in winter. Although distributed over a wider area than many Testudo species, they are treated indifferently or even killed by the natives, so must be considered threatened. Emys is a timid inhabitant of warm still water, slow rivers, irrigation canals and marshes. It likes dense aquatic vegetation.
Males have a concave plastron and wider carapaces at the posterior than females.
Incubation is 3-4 months and needs fairly warm summer temperatures for the embryos to develop at all. In C. Europe the young hatch in Aug-Sept. They have soft carapaces and are barely 2 cm long. They usually hibernate in their hatching place, whereas adults hibernate in the mud at the bottom of a body of water, much as N. American freshwater species do. Its carapace is a lighter brown and lacks the narrow yellowish lines or flecks of Emys .