The eye, or iris, of the eastern mud turtle is yellow with dark clouding, and its feet are webbed.The specific name, subrubrum, meaning "under red", refers to the red-orange plastron of hatchlings.

[4] The eastern mud turtle is omnivorous and feeds on insects, crustaceans, mollusks, amphibians, carrion, and aquatic vegetation.

Smaller eastern mud turtles prey on small aquatic insects, algae, and carrion, whereas larger ones can feed on any type of food.

[5] Eastern mud turtles have been documented to migrate seasonally from uplands that they frequent to wetlands and aquatic movement in their home ranges.

[7] In anthropogenically altered landscapes, such as golf courses, Eastern Mud Turtles were shown to cross an average of four different habitat types while emerging during the summer and fall.

The Eastern Mud Turtle prefers hibernacula sites about 70 meters from wetlands and that have a large amount of leaf and pine litter and not too much tree cover.

This virus affects amphibians, fish, and reptiles and causes oral plaque, ulceration, and conjunctivitis in infected species eventually resulting in death.