Small arboreal mouse, with dull gingery-brown dorsal pelage and an extremely long tufted tail. Dorsal pelage gingery-brown or cinnamon-brown suffused with grey and black. Ventral pelage usually pure white, clearly delineated from dorsal pelage, often with thin band of pale orange between dorsal and ventral pelage. Head gingery-brown; ears short and rounded, covered with short ginger hairs. Chin and throat white. Feet white. Digit 1 of forefoot reduced to stump without claw. Hindfeet relatively short, Digit 5 long, adapted for grasping small twigs. Tail very long, scaly, with short brown or black bristles; long black hairs form terminal pencil at tip.
Woodland Thicket Rats are nocturnal and typically arboreal. They are highly agile and have various adaptations for climbing, including a long digit on the hindfoot and a long tail for balance. They build spherical nests from grasses and leaves with a single entrance up to about 4 m above the ground. They are considered communal, and several individuals or family groups have been found within the same nest.