They shelter in hollow trees, though natives report that they also may take possession of nests abandoned by Ratufa. On Java H. lepidus sometimes nests in a coconut shell in which other squirrels have gnawed a hole. Sometimes the dried shell remains attached to its stem, or the nest is in a loose shell suspended in the crown of the palm tree. In mainland Malaysia, however, H. lepidus is said to provide shelter by gnawing openings in the shells itself. H. lepidus has been reported to glide for distances of 135 meters or more.
Some species occasionally feed upon cultivated fruits.
Their diet also includes nuts, tender shoots, leaves, and, apparently, insects and small snakes. A captive H. lepidus in Java preferred insects such as crickets and locusts but would also eat wood lice and spiders. It grabbed these invertebrates with its incisors and used its hands to hold the prey. This species mates in late January or early February, and the young, usually two or three, are born from mid-March through June. Pregnant females and young were found in July and August of 1968, but there then was no evidence of breeding until February 1970.