The platypus sleeps during the . It moves mostly at night. It is a very good swimmer and spends much of its time in the . It keeps its eyes shut when swimming, using on its other senses (hearing, feeling). The on its feet are joined. When it swims, it pushes itself along by moving the front two . The tail and back feet help it to turn left or right, but does not make it .
The platypus eats other animals. It eats ; insect larvae, which are wormlike insect babies; freshwater shrimp; and yabbies, which are a kind of freshwater crayfish. It digs these out of the bottom of the river with its , or catches them while swimming. Its nose can sense many things that other animal noses cannot. The platypus can sense from other animals. No other mammal can do this. The platypus can hunt without using its .
When on land, the platypus lives in a short, straight, oval . It makes these holes in the riverbank a little the water. It likes them hidden under roots. When a platypus is pregnant (ready to have babies), the female makes much larger holes, up to long. She blocks the with earth at several places. At the end of the tunnel, she builds a out of reeds (river grass) for her .
The platypus lays eggs in its nest. When the babies come out of the eggs they on to the mother. The mother makes for the new babies. The platypus does not have nipples, but milk comes through small openings in the . The young platypus drinks the milk from the mother's while she lies on her back.