It is very common in Spain, Portugal and Northwest Africa, being also present in the southern Mediterranean coast of France[4] and the western regions of the Middle East.

[8] The unthreatening nature of the snake, along with its relatively mild persecution by man, has made it one of the most common species throughout its range, even in areas occupied by humans.

M. m. monspessulanus occurs in southwestern Europe (Spain, Portugal, southern France and northwestern Italy)[6] and the western Maghreb, where it is found in Morocco and coastal Algeria, east to Algiers.

[4] Another subspecies, M. m. saharatlanticus, lives in the region from Bouizakarne in Morocco to Dakhla in the Western Sahara, inland to Aoulouz and Tafraoute.

[6] Forms of M. monspessulanus found in the more arid parts of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq are sometimes hard to classify because they have either 17 or 19 scale rows, resembling both M. m. fuscus and M. m.

[4] The animal is not threatened by its interactions with humans and is assessed as "Least Concern", but it is often killed by cars and farmers, and is sometimes used by snake charmers and sold as curio.