This cavy occurs in the hills and dry lowlands of Argentina. Its back color varies among the sample groups described in a 2017 paper, from yellowish gray to brown. In a Mendoza study, shrubs were common in the plant material identified from droppings at both a protected reserve and a neighboring grazed field.
A 2017 taxonomic paper describes the dorsal color as yellowish gray in some sample groups and brownish in others. The underparts are grayish to yellowish.
At Ñacuñán Biosphere Reserve and an adjacent grazed field in Mendoza, fecal analysis identified 15 plant species, including shrubs. Shrubs had high relative frequencies among plants eaten at both sites.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.