This species can be found in a variety of habitats from lowland pristine, riverine and secondary forests to caves and also disturbed environments such as plantations and rural gardens (O'Shea 1996) up to 700 m asl (Edgar and Lilley 1993). Most species of the genus are considered terrestrial species (Foufopoulos and Richards 2007), however, the slender body and prehensile tail of Candoia carinata demonstrate its arboreal lifestyle (de Lang 2013). It is ovoviviparous and gives birth to up to six (in captivity of up to nine young) (Wirz 2002). Its diet consists primarily of skinks but may also take geckos, their eggs and frogs (O’Shea 1996).

This species has a large distribution, ranging from the eastern Indonesian islands (Sulawesi and the Moluccas - Candoia carinata carinata), and New Guinea to the Bismarck Archipelago (where it is represented by the separate subspecies C. c.  tepedeleni). In Indonesia it has been recorded on Sulawesi, Sangihe Islands, the Moluccas (Ambon, Banda Islands, Neira, Boano, Gorong, Haruku, Saparua, Seram, Tanimbar islands, Yamdena (den Bosch 1985, O’Shea 1996, de Lang 2013, A. Stubbs pers. comm. 2019). In Indonesian New Guinea it occurs throughout West Papua Province and across the northern coastal region to the Huon Peninsula of Moreby Province, Papua New Guinea. Some records from the Papuan Peninsula require verification (M. O'Shea pers. comm. 2015). It is found in the south west of Papua New Guinea in Western, Southern Highlands, and Gulf Province. It is also found throughout the Bismarck Archipelago and Admiralty islands. It is found at elevations from sea level to around 1,525 m asl (O’Shea 1996).