The specific name, warreni, is in honour of British zoologist Ernest Warren (1871–1945), who collected the holotype.

The preferred natural habitats of S. warreni are savanna and rock outcrops on wooded mountain slopes, at altitudes of 300–800 m (980–2,620 ft).

[1] A shy species, S. warreni eats large arthropods and small vertebrates.

The back is dark brown with small yellow spots forming bands.

Warren's girdled lizard was formerly available in the pet trade, possibly exported from Mozambique.