This snake occurs mainly in rocky mountainous areas, including talus slopes, gorges, rimrock, limestone outcrops, and rocky streambeds, often in arid or semi-arid areas vegetated with pine-oak, oak-juniper, pinyon pine, ponderosa pine, or agave; it also inhabits mesquite grasslands and rocky desert flats and canyons, as well as mixed boreal-tropical forest and tropical deciduous forest in Mexico (Armstrong and Murphy 1979, Degenhardt et al. 1996, Werler and Dixon 2000, Ernst and Ernst 2003, Stebbins 2003). In forests it tends to occupy open sunny areas (Campbell and Lamar 2004). It is a terrestrial species that may sometimes climb into low vegetation (Rossi and Feldner 1993 Herpetological Review 24: 35). It takes refuge under or among rocks, in animal burrows, or in or under stumps or similar refuges.

The species' range encompasses southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, southwestern Texas in the United States, and eastern Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, eastern Sinaloa, Zacatecas, eastern Nayarit, northern Jalisco, Aguascalientes, western San Luis Potosi, western Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and southwestern Tamaulipas in Mexico (Armstrong and Murphy 1979, Degenhardt et al. 1996, Ernst and Ernst 2003, Stebbins 2003, Campbell and Lamar 2004). Its elevational range extends from about 300 to 2,930 m asl (1,000 to 9,600 feet) (Stebbins 2003).

At least several occurrences of this species are in protected areas.