• In captivity it has lived 3–4 years.
• Litters usually contain 4–5 young.

The bush rat has a typical lifespan of two to three years and six months, with a maximum recorded lifespan of four years and two months, and a theoretical lifespan ranging from two years and eight months to four years and nine months; the species reaches sexual maturity between two weeks and one day and three months and three weeks of age. The young’s eyes open between one week and six days and two weeks and three days, and it begins to walk between one week and four days and two weeks. During the embryonic stage, the developing embryo receives all nutrients from the mother and does not eat independently. Following birth, the young is initially blind, hairless, lives in a nest, and feeds on maternal milk, with this infant stage lasting from one day to two months and one week. The adult stage begins at three months and lasts up to two years and nine months, during which the species can reproduce and forage for food independently.