Bats of T. pachypus were usually found associated with bamboo groves in both intact and disturbed habitats at elevations ranging from lowland up to 1200 m. They usually roost in small groups in bamboo internodes, entering through narrow vertical slits created by beetles (Phillipps and Phillipps 2016). The reproductive phenomenon of this species is likely to be similar to that of other bamboo bat species found from Malaysia Peninsular such as often give birth to twins or January–July is the major reproductive period coinciding with abundance of insect prey (see Medway 1972).

It is provisionally regarded to distribute restrictedly in the Sundaic region on Borneo, Java, and Sumatra and their surrounding islands. On Sumatra, it was recorded at elevation of 1,200 m a.s.l. (see Tu et al. 2017).

This species has been recorded in many protected areas in Sundaic region.