The brittle shelled eggs are the shape of, and smaller than, ping-pong balls. The young hatch in August or September. Hatchlings overwintering in the nests have not been observed in Iowa. The young are patterned like adult males, and have upturned noses and the sides of the carapace droop covering the hind limbs and tail like a blanket. Neonate softshells are eaten by a variety of carnivorous vertebrates including large fish.
Males appear to consume more terrestrial foods including cottonwood and mulberry seeds.