This lizard lives in arid and semi-arid habitats among fallen leaves and trunks of yuccas, agaves, cacti, and other large plants, also in crevices of rock outcroppings and under logs and bark of foothill pines; it ranges locally into pinyon-juniper, sagebrush-blackbrush, and chaparral-oak (Stebbins 2003).

The range extends from southern Utah, western and central Arizona, southern Nevada, and southern California south to southwestern Sonora and throughout most of Baja California, Mexico (Grismer 2002, Stebbins 2003). Some Arizona populations formerly included in this species are now regarded as X. arizonae and X. bezyi (Papenfuss et al. 2001). A population in northern Durango is now recognized as X. extorrus. See Feldman et al. (2003) for discussion of distribution in the southern Sierra Nevada region of California.

At least several occurrences are in national parks. Other than some general research activities, no direct conservation measures are needed for this species as a whole.