This species is found in open habitats with mixed deciduous forests and groves, bushlands, flooded meadows and swamps, and also in agricultural landscapes (irrigation channels) and villages, and riparian groves in the steppe regions. It might in some instances be strictly aquatic. This species may coexist with fish in oxbow lakes, river margins and other non-temporary waterbodies, and may also occur in disturbed habitats including those close to human settlement (Griffiths 1996).

Reproduction takes place in small ponds with stagnant water, or in channels, irrigation channels, ditches and flooded quarries. Facultative paedomorphosis was reported from Hungary (Mester et al. 2013). It appears to be a short-lived species, with the oldest individuals in the wild being 4–6 years old (Cogălniceanu and Miaud 2002, 2003).

This European endemic species is found in the lowlands of the Tisza and Danube River systems from eastern Austria, extreme southeastern Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, northern Croatia, extreme northern Bosnia-Herzegovina, northern Serbia and western Romania, southern and southeastern Romania including the Danube Delta and its lagoon system, northern Bulgaria, southern Moldova (the lower reaches of the Prut River), and extreme southern Odesskaya Province (Ukraine) (Vörös et al. 2016). It is present also in Slovenia in the River Mura floodplain.

An isolated subpopulation was reported from the Dnieper River Delta, Kherson Province, Ukraine by Litvinchuk (2005). Records added since the 2008 assessment include northeastern Bulgaria (Ghergel and Iftime 2009). It is generally found in lowland areas, mostly floodplains, below 300 m asl.

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species is present in a number of protected areas, and in parts of its range mitigation measures to reduce road kill have been established. It is listed on Appendix II of the Bern Convention and is included in Annex II of the Habitats Directive of the European Union (Council Directive 92/43/EEC), i.e. species of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation. It is considered Vulnerable in Serbia (Kalezić et al. 2015).

Conservation Needed
There is also an urgent need for a EU (European Union) wide coordinated approach and implementation of the Bsal Action Plan by Gilbert et al. (2020), which was commissioned by the European Commission.

Research Needed
If an outbreak of Bsal was to occur within this species' range, population monitoring would need to be carried out immediately and this species would need to be reassessed.