Its primary diet includes grass and weed seeds, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and crickets, but it may also eat mice and shrews; it will viciously attack and consume cicadas if able to catch them.

This squirrel sometimes damages gardens by digging burrows and eating vegetables, but also devours weed seeds and harmful insects.

It is well known for standing upright to survey its domain, diving down into its burrow when it senses danger, then sometimes poking out its nose and giving a bird-like trill.

[5] Thirteen-lined ground squirrels can survive in hibernation for over six months without food or water and special physiological adaptations allow them to do so.

[7] During torpor, these squirrels maintain hydration by depleting their body fluids of osmolytes like sodium, glucose, and blood urea nitrogen.

[10] During hibernation, thirteen-lined ground squirrels prioritize skeletal muscle tissue for maintenance and potential regrowth.