Specific predator information is not well documented for this species. Like most turtles, eggs and hatchlings are likely the most vulnerable life stages. The extended period of underground dormancy—up to eight months per year—may also expose aestivating turtles to predation by fossorial predators.

Adults are presumably protected by their shells, though the small population sizes and restricted habitat make any predation pressure potentially significant at the population level.

Rather than hibernating through winter cold, this species aestivates during the long dry season from April to September—up to eight months of dormancy each year. When water temperatures drop below 20°C, turtles leave their pools and seek shelter under bromeliads or burrow into the soil, sometimes found about 5 cm underground near tree trunks.

During aestivation, soil temperatures at dormancy sites have been recorded as low as 2–5°C, demonstrating remarkable cold tolerance for a tropical species. The turtles become active again only with the warmer rains of spring, emerging sometime between October and March for their brief 4–6 month active period.

When these turtles first emerge from months of dormancy, the temporary pools they inhabit are newly formed and lack substantial prey. During this early period, they practice neustophagia—skimming and filtering microorganisms from the water's surface. As the rainy season progresses and prey populations build up, their diet shifts to more substantial fare.

Studies of wild turtles in Mendoza found their diet consisted primarily of insects (64%, representing nine species), followed by amphibians (14%, eight species), spiders (7%), and fish (7%). Tadpoles are a favorite food. In captivity, they readily accept meat, fish, shrimp, insects, and small aquatic snails, but consistently avoid vegetables.

The reproductive period is compressed into the short summer rainy season, from January through March. All adult females examined in one January study were gravid. Mating has been observed on land rather than in water.

Both sexes reach sexual maturity at about 130–140 mm shell length and 325–400 grams. Females produce a single clutch of 2–5 eggs per year. The eggs are hard-shelled, white, longer than wide, and measure approximately 25–28 mm by 22–24 mm.

Incubation is complex and prolonged. The only documented captive breeding success required 399 days—nearly 13 months. The eggs went through three temperature phases: 50 days at variable temperatures of 15–24°C, then 178 days at a constant 10°C (simulating the dry season cool period), followed by 171 days at 29°C before hatching. This suggests wild eggs likely overwinter in the nest before hatching coincides with the following rainy season.

The prominent horny spurs on the hind legs give this species a distinctive appearance and have generated some unfortunate folklore. Indigenous peoples in Salta Province believe these spurs are venomous, and some families report killing hatchlings on sight due to this fear—their bright orange plastral coloration apparently makes them seem even more dangerous. The species name "pallidipectoris" actually refers to the paler plastron compared to related species.

In traditional Ayoreo culture of the Bolivian Chaco, juvenile shells are fashioned into rattles by inserting a stick of palo santo wood as a clapper. Hunters wear these from their belts, using different rhythms as a communication code during hunts. The Ayoreo also carry turtle parts in shoulder bags, believing this grants them the silence and discretion of the turtle. Hispanic settlers use the shells to make charangos, a regional stringed instrument.

The species has also found use in Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian spiritual tradition practiced in the region, where a dried hind foot is hung as a cure for asthma.