Upper surfaces covered with uniform small granular scales, largest on the snout, smallest on the occiput.

Rostral four-sided, twice as broad as deep, with median cleft above; nostril pierced between the rostral, the first labial, and three or four nasals; 9 to 11 upper and 7 or 8 lower labials; mental large, triangular, followed by a pair of chin-shields; an outer pair of much smaller chin-shields.

Tail depressed, rounded, oval in section, covered above with uniform small scales, beneath with a median series of transversely dilated plates.

Light brown above, with darker spots, having sometimes a tendency to form four longitudinal bands on the back; frequently small whitish spots on the body and limbs; a dark streak passing through the eye; tail above with small chevron-shaped markings; lower surfaces whitish.

[2] The preferred natural habitat of H. bowringii is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,250 m (4,100 ft), but it has also been found in plantations and around man-made structures in urban areas.