[7] An arboreal and carnivorous species, the red-tailed phascogale has a varied diet, and can feed on insects and spiders, but also small birds and small mammals, notably the house mouse (Mus musculus), which has become ubiquitous in the landscape since its introduction by Europeans.

[12] It is found in dense and tall climax vegetation, and appears to prefer those containing the Wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo) and the rock sheoak (Allocasuarina huegeliana), as it has developed a resistance to the fluoroacetate the plants produce that is lethal to livestock.

[3] The animal is classified as near threatened by the IUCN Red List and vulnerable under the Australian EPBC Act.

[13] Recent conservation efforts in Central Australia have paid off, and 30 were released at the remote Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, near Lake Mackay, Northern Territory in June 2020 after a captive breeding program at the Alice Springs Desert Park.

They were bred from a small group taken from the wild in Western Australia, after their delicate breeding cycle was carefully managed.

[16] Captive nutrition trials found red-tailed phascogales consume up to 39% of their body mass in food per day and their daily maintenance energy requirements are approximately 954 kJ kg0.75day−1.

[28] Given their semelparous reproductive strategy they have been investigated in terms of their immunosenescense in captivity[29] and immune response.