D. pictus is present in a wide variety of western Mediterranean habitats, including open, sandy coastal areas, pastures, vineyards, woods and forests, often in dense vegetation proximate to surface water bodies. This anuran breeds in most types of lentic (still water) habitats; moreover, while classified by the IUCN as a freshwater species, it is sometimes present in not only in freshwater marshes, but also in brackish water. In Sicily, populations have been associated with irrigation channels, water cisterns, pipes and canals in cultivated areas (Bosch et al. 2009). While known to occur near sea level altitudes, the species has been observed at elevations up to 1000 meters in Algeria (Salvador, 1996).

In terms of habitat descriptions per ecoregion occurrence, D. pictus is known from the South Appenine mixed montane forests as well as the Mediterranean woodlands and forests (World Wildlife Fund & Hogan, 2007).

Aestivation is thought to occur by spending hot summer months beneath stones or in rock crevices (Salvador, 1996).