There are three pairs of mammae in female S. salvanius and six pairs in females of the other species. Individuals construct crude shelters by cutting grass and spreading it over a given area. They crawl under the grass and then raise themselves to lift the grass mat, which then attaches to uncut grass and forms a canopy. They wallow in mud and will do so for hours if the opportunity affords. They are swift runners and good, strong swimmers.
Activity is mainly nocturnal and crepuscular.
A great distance may be traveled during the night in search of food. The omnivorous diet includes fungi, tubers, bulbs, green vegetation, grains, nuts, cultivated crops, invertebrates, small vertebrates, and carrion. After the young are weaned, two or more families may come together. This association remains stable until the beginning of the next mating season, when the previously solitary adult males join in fighting over the females. A male usually wins control of 1-3 females but sometimes obtains as many as 8.