Habitat varies but tends to be relatively dry and wooded (often pine and oak), with an abundance of rocks, logs, or rotting stumps on the surface; specific examples of occupied habitats include xeric pine-oak woodland on hillsides and ridges; sandy pine flatwoods; maritime forests; sandhills; and sometimes mesic meadows, hardwood hammocks, and the wet margins of marshes, swamps, and rivers (Barbour 1971, Mount 1975, Ashton and Ashton 1981, Dundee and Rossman 1989, Mitchell 1994, Palmer and Braswell 1995, Tennant 1997, Minton 2001, Ernst and Ernst 2003). In daytime, this snake generally is under rocks, debris, or other surface cover, or within or under rotting logs or stumps. At night, it may be found on roads. Eggs are laid under woody debris, in rotting logs or sawdust piles, or underground.

This species is endemic to the southeast of the United States. Its range extends from extreme southern Indiana and western Kentucky eastward to Virginia, and south to eastern Louisiana, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle (Barbour 1971, Ashton and Ashton 1981, Dundee and Rossman 1989, Mitchell 1994, Palmer and Braswell 1995, Minton 2001, Ernst and Ernst 2003).

Many occurrences are in protected areas.