The original description of the species V. gilleni was presented to the Royal Society of Victoria in 1895 by Arthur H. S. Lucas and Charles Frost.

[7] It can be found under the loose bark of desert she-oaks, and the hollows of eucalyptus, mulga, and myall trees.

[5] It is sometimes mistaken for the stripe-tailed goanna, but the two species are allopatric and can be physically distinguished by the pygmy mulga monitor's slightly larger size.

[10] It is particularly well adapted to arid conditions, losing water at half the rate of other Australian monitor species.

Pygmy mulga monitors eat primarily spiders, orthopterans, beetles, and other lizards, especially geckos such as Gehyra variegata and Heteronotia binoei.