A. elater often digs in wagon tracks or other depressions in the ground, and the excavated soil may fill the depression and make it difficult to find the burrow. In A. euphratica, one of the more southerly species, winter dormancy lasts only from late October to February, and some populations do not hibernate at all. Most species of Allactaga are primarily vegetarian. A. major is almost exclusively a seed eater but also takes bulbs and some other plant matter. There are generally two or three such peaks, corresponding with spring, summer, and fall.
Many females evidently have three annual litters.
Most other Soviet species also are thought to have lengthy breeding seasons, with several peak periods, and possibly two or three litters per year. There are usually about three to five young at a time, but overall recorded litter size in the Soviet Union is one to eight. The young of A. elater remain with the mother for 30-35 days and attain sexual maturity by 3.5 months. Therefore, it is possible for a female of this species born early in the reproductive season to give birth to its own litter before the season ends. The young of A. major remain with the mother for at least 1.5 months and apparently do not mate until the year after they are born.