The silky mole-rat is a solitary rodent that digs underground burrows. In a Malawi study, its burrowing pattern changed as the soil hardened during the dry season.
Its short fur ranges from pale sandy to ginger on the back and is duller underneath. Some individuals have white spots on the forehead or belly.
Its underground burrows are long and branched. Their form changes with season, soil hardness, and food supply. At the Malawi study site, digging continued through the dry season and burrow temperatures were more stable than surface temperatures.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.