It is found in the southern Bahamas and in all the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (both Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico).

It forms large colonies, with up to a few hundred thousand individuals, and feeds on a relatively wide variety of food items including pollen, nectar, fruit and insects.

[3] The species is distributed throughout the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, aggregating in large numbers in caves for roosting.

Still, the species' diverse diet may play role in its adaptability to random events like hurricanes, because it can recover more quickly than other bats by taking advantage of a variety of food items available at different times during an ecosystem's recovery.

[8][9] A comparison of macroparasite communities in three bat species including M. redmani found a negative relationship between the amount of ectoparasites and of endoparasites, such as helminths.

Leach's single leaf bat had the highest ectoparasite load but was free of helminths.

[10] The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN due to its large population size and broad distribution, although mining and tourism are reducing cave roosting space.