It is a subterranean species and can be found in humid soils in forested and open environments (including dry Caatinga savannah). It also occurs in rural gardens, plantations and other anthropogenic habitats. It is oviparous with terrestrial eggs and direct development, and is not dependent on water for breeding. It exhibits parental care with maternal dermatophagy, where the offspring consume maternal skin for nourishment (Wilkinson et al. 2008). In Brazil, it has been recorded in the Caatinga, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and Amazonia biomes.

This species is widely distributed through tropical South America (Maciel et al. 2013), ranging from east of the Andes from northern Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and French Guiana, south to Amazonian Brazil and Bolivia, and then from northeastern Brazil south to southern Brazil and northern Argentina, appearing to be disjunct in the open vegetation diagonal of Brazil (Maciel et al. 2013). In Argentina, this species is found in the southern part of Misiones (Taylor 1968). In Bolivia, it is found in Beni, La Paz, Pando and Santa Cruz (Dunn 1942, Taylor 1968, De la Riva 1990). It is presumably to be found in adjacent Uruguay and Paraguay. It is generally found below 800 m asl.

Conservation Actions In-Place
It occurs in many protected areas. 

Research Needed
Further research is required into the taxonomy of this species.