It is nocturnal, arboreal and solitary, but adult pairs have been found denning together in tree holes. It is slow moving but can climb swiftly. It is restricted to forested regions, and is found in mature and disturbed lowland and montane rainforest. Its movements are inoffensive, but quick to defend itself with its spines or by biting. It feeds leaves, fruits and bark (Emmons and Feer 1997).

This species occurs in the eastern Andean foothills and adjacent Amazonian lowland forests from San Martin southward to northeast Bolivia. Isolated populations occur in relictual montane forests on the western side of the Andes in northern Peru (Barthelmess 2016). It has additionally been reported in northwestern Argentina. It has previously been misidentified in northern Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela (Voss 2015). In Bolivia it is found from the lowlands of Beni up to 2,500 m asl in the yungas (Incachaca) of Cochabamba (Anderson 1997). There are two new records in Brazil (de Freitas et al. 2013).

It occurs in several protected areas and is listed as Vulnerable in Argentina (Ojeda and Diaz 2000).