[4] Upperparts are a thick, lustrous and short fur of pale yellow brown or greyish fawn, with a pencilling of darker hairs, and small white patches behind the ears.

A nocturnal and terrestrial animal, the Forrest's mouse shelters during the day in a grass nest in shallow burrows (possibly at the base of spinifex tussocks), and also in cracks in the soil.

[7] Habitats are varied and include: riparian Coolabah forest, tussock grassland, stony saltbush plains, mulga and savannah woodlands, chenopod shrubland and sandy ridges,[4] and cracking clay pans.

[2][7][10] Assessment of stomach contents concluded the major food item was seed (47%), followed by arthropods at 27%, with the remainder consisting of stem and leaf material.

[11] It is generally thought that the Forrest's mouse does not rely on standing water for drinking, as it obtains sufficient moisture from its diet in a similar fashion to other well adapted desert rodents.

[15] Heavy grazing and the trampling of habitat by domestic stock, feral goats, rabbits and pigs has been identified as a threat to the Forrest's mouse.

[4] Grazing by stock affects native rodents through the removal of shrubs and grasses that provide food and shelter, and powder and compact the topsoil, which makes burrowing difficult or impossible.