L. hellmichi is found in southwestern Angola and northwestern Namibia,[1] though it is thought to have once had a larger geographic range that included the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[2][3] L. hellmichi favors rocky areas of savanna and shrubland,[1] in the Namib Desert,[4] at altitudes of 300–700 m (980–2,300 ft).

The largest female, the holotype found in Kapolopopo, Angola, was 471 mm (18.5 in) in total length.

[5] Laurent described L. hellmichi from “Kapolopopo, desert de Mossamedes " in 1964, and included L. c. capense (Hellmich 1957, Entre Rios) in the synonymy, which was the first record of the species in Angola.

Laurent assigned a number of Namibian specimens to L. hellmichi in 1968, which Broadley later realized were a new species, L. namibianum.