Red kangaroo has the ability to freeze the development of an embryo until the previous joey is able to leave the pouch. This is known as diapause, and will occur in times of drought and in areas with poor food sources. The composition of the milk produced by the mother varies according to the needs of the joey. In addition, red kangaroo mothers may "have up to three generations of offspring simultaneously; a young-at-foot suckling from an elongated teat, a young in the pouch attached to a second teat and a blastula in arrested development in the uterus". The kangaroo has also
Kangaroo rat outside temperature is too hot, a kangaroo rat stays in its cool, humid burrow and leaves it only at night. To reduce loss of moisture through respiration when sleeping, a kangaroo rat buries its nose in its fur to accumulate a small pocket of moist air. The burrows of Merriam's kangaroo rats are simpler and shallower than those of banner-tailed kangaroo rats. Banner-tailed kangaroo rats also mate in their burrows, unlike Merriam's kangaroo rats. Kangaroo rats are generally solitary animals with little social organization. Kangaroo rats communicate during competitive interactions and courtship. They do cluster together in some feeding situations.