Occurs in varied habitats from dry scrub forest, tropical dry deciduous forests, semi evergreen hill forest, evergreen forest and mangroves. It is also found in grasslands and near to human habitations, including gardens. It is a diurnal and arboreal snake and has been noted to feed on frogs, geckos and small birds, mice, tadpoles, fish, insects and other smaller snakes. The species is ovoviviparous and gives birth to up to 23 young between March and December (Whitaker and Captain 2004, Khaire 2006, Vasudevan and Sondhi 2010).

This species occurs from Nepal, India and Sri Lanka eastward to Vietnam, and southward to the Isthmus of Kra in southern Thailand. In India, it is known from throughout the peninsular and south of the Indo-Gangetic plain, and is also known from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Assam in northeast India. The northeastern limit of this species in India is uncertain (Wall 1919, Daniel 2002, Whitaker and Captain 2004). It occurs in the foothills of the Himalaya in Uttarakhand State in northern India (Vasudevan and Sondhi 2010). It has been recorded from 10-1,300 m asl.

No species-specific conservation measures are required. The species occurs in numerous protected areas across its large range.