The bog turtle is primarily diurnal, active during the day and sleeping at night. It wakes in the early morning, basks until fully warm, then begins its search for food. It is a seclusive species, making it challenging to observe in its natural habitat. During colder days, the bog turtle will spend much of its time in dense underbrush, underwater, or buried in mud. Such behavior is indicative of the bog turtle's ability to survive without oxygen. On warmer days, the bog turtle's activities include scavenging, mating (during early spring), and basking in sunlight, the last of which it spends a great deal of the day doing. However, the bog turtle usually takes shelter from the sun during the hottest part of the day. Occasionally, during times of extreme heat, the turtle will either estivate, or become subterranean, sometimes occupying networks of tunnels filled with water. At night, the bog turtle buries itself in soft tunnels.