This very small-bodied mouse mainly eats seeds. It is active at night and plugs its burrow entrance during the day.
The coat is silky and varies widely in color across the species' range. The back is brown, pinkish buff, or ochraceous buff, while the underside is whitish. Two small patches of lighter hairs usually occur at the base of the ears. The tail may be distinctly or indistinctly bicolored.
It is nocturnal, with activity tending to peak early in the night. It plugs the burrow entrance by day and mainly eats seeds. Nests of green leaves and dry roots are often made beneath shrubs. In one excavated system, runways were about 1.5–2 cm in diameter, and nest chambers were found 52 and 65 cm below the surface. Cold or food stress can trigger torpor, and the mouse may remain inactive above ground from fall to spring.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.