The short-toed nests in tree crevices or behind bark flakes.
Old woodpecker nests, crevices in buildings or walls, and artificial nest boxes or flaps are also used.

The nest has an often bulky base of twigs, pine needles, grass or bark, and a lining of finer material such as feathers, wool, moss, lichen or spider web.
The eggs are laid between April and mid June (typical clutch 5–7 eggs); they are white with purple-red blotches, 15.6 mm × 12.2 mm (0.61 in × 0.48 in) in size.
The eggs are incubated by the female alone for 13 – 15 days until the altricial downy chicks hatch; they are then fed by both parents, but brooded by the female alone, for a further 15 – 18 days to fledging.
This species often raises a second brood.
The male starts constructing a new nest while the female is still feeding the first brood, and when the chicks are 10–12 days old, he takes over feeding duties while the female completes the new nest.

A Spanish study suggests that forest fragmentation adversely affects the numbers of short-toed treecreepers present, as is also the case with the common treecreeper.
Species that depend on relatively scarce resources, such as tree trunks, only occupy the larger forests, whereas those such as tits and common firecrests that exploit abundant, ubiquitous resources are distributed uniformly through woodlands of all sizes.
The short-toed nests in tree crevices or behind bark flakes. Old woodpecker nests, crevices in buildings or walls, and artificial nest boxes or flaps are also used.
The nest has an often bulky base of twigs, pine needles, grass or bark, and a lining of finer material such as feathers, wool, moss, lichen or spider web. The eggs are laid between April and mid June (typical clutch 5–7 eggs); they are white with purple-red blotches, 15.6 mm × 12.2 mm (0.61 in × 0.48 in) in size. The eggs are incubated by the female alone for 13 – 15 days until the altricial downy chicks hatch; they are then fed by both parents, but brooded by the female alone, for a further 15 – 18 days to fledging. This species often raises a second brood. The male starts constructing a new nest while the female is still feeding the first brood, and when the chicks are 10–12 days old, he takes over feeding duties while the female completes the new nest.
A Spanish study suggests that forest fragmentation adversely affects the numbers of short-toed treecreepers present, as is also the case with the common treecreeper. Species that depend on relatively scarce resources, such as tree trunks, only occupy the larger forests, whereas those such as tits and common firecrests that exploit abundant, ubiquitous resources are distributed uniformly through woodlands of all sizes.
Short-toed treecreeper