[2] The lining of the mouth is rich in blood vessels and provides an additional surface for gas exchange when the swamp eel breathes air.

It is a nocturnal predator and feeds on any small prey in its environment such as frogs, tadpoles,[4] fish, spiders, insects and other invertebrates.

[4] It moves through dense vegetation on river banks, searches shallow water areas for prey and descends into burrows to find concealed animals.

When on land it lives in a burrow, and tunnels more deeply as the ground becomes drier so as to keep below the water table.

In the laboratory, these eels have remained alive in drying-out burrows for over six months, moving about through the tunnels.