Rice rats are different from ordinary rats. Rice rats are very docile and will not bite casually. But they also attack when they sense danger. Rice rats are active at night, making them difficult to see and difficult for humans to catch. Rice rats build their nests in sedges and grasses, about 13 cm in size, under rubbish, near bushes, in burrows or on top of aquatic plants.

Rice rats also use nests of swamp wren, red-winged blackbird, muskrat, or muskrat. Rice rats sometimes make large tunnels or burrows. Rice rats are good swimmers, they can easily swim more than 10 meters underwater, and when they are in danger, they will escape into the water to hide.