When pygmy rabbits can utilize sagebrush cover, burrow use is decreased. Burrows are usually located on slopes at the base of sagebrush plants, and face north to east. In Oregon, pygmy rabbits inhabited areas where soils were significantly deeper and looser than soils at adjacent sites. Winter - Some areas inhabited by pygmy rabbits are covered with several feet of snow for up to 2 or more months during the winter. During periods when the snow has covered most of the sagebrush, pygmy rabbits tunnel beneath the snow to find food.
Snow tunnels are approximately the same height and width as underground burrows.
The primary food of pygmy rabbits is big sagebrush, which may comprise up to 99 percent of the food eaten in the winter. Grasses comprised 10 percent of the July to December diet and were consumed mostly during July and August. Other shrubs in the area were consumed infrequently. Some populations of pygmy rabbits are susceptible to rapid declines and possibly local extirpation. The loss of habitat is probably the most significant factor contributing to pygmy rabbit population declines.