This species is common in mountain wadis and surrounding rocky terrain, especially in areas having permanent or semi-permanent surface water. They are primarily nocturnal hunters but in cool weather they can be found on bedrock or gravel beside surface water or damp hollows, where they may bask, but also wait in ambush. Their diet consists of small vertebrates, particularly toads, and they emerge in wadi beds during or after light rain to feed on toads which emerge at the same time. Individual snakes have been observed to maintain territories and regular resting place over several years. They are presumably oviparous.