The bases of the individual hairs on the back are mouse gray. The scantily haired tail, ears, hands, and feet are usually reddish, though in some animals the feet are white. The nails are horn brown, and the whiskers are long and numerous. The hind foot is modified for arboreal life. The pollex is very small, the tail is prehensile, and the incisor teeth are moderate.
Females have four mammae.
Monkey-footed rats are found in dense forests up to about 1,600 meters in elevation. They build globular nests of leaves or moss in the branches or hollows of trees. Two nests found in Java were about 150 mm in diameter and located about 2 and 3.5 meters above the ground. The movements of these rodents are quite slow and cautious. The tail is used for grasping as the animals climb and scamper about limbs and branches.