The snake scale snake has been included in the List of Beneficial or Important Economic and Scientific Research Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000. It has been listed in the 2013 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ver3.1 - Near Threatened (NT). It has been listed in the China Biodiversity Red List - Vertebrate Volume, and the assessment level is Vulnerable (VU).

The snake scale snake is not a common pet, it is a relatively precious species. It inhabits areas with an altitude of 400-1000m, and lives in caves. Under the woods and fields where the soil is soft, litter, rotten wood, and stones are the habitats of the snake.