The main food source of the northern hopping mouse is seeds, which it forages from a range of grasses, herbs and shrubs (3), although it also eats other vegetable matter as well as insects (2). It is a social species that lives in an elaborate burrow system with many other individuals. The burrow contains a nest chamber, lined with leaves and other plant material, and the entrance to the burrow is obscured with a thin layer of sand. Being nocturnal, the mouse only emerges from the burrow at night (2) (3) (4).
Overall, the northern hopping mouse is a little-known species (3) and its reproductive habits have been observed only in a captive colony. Each litter consists of up to five young which are born after a gestation period of approximately seven weeks (2). The young are born virtually hairless with sealed eyes and ears; their eyes open 21 to 22 days after birth (2).