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Endemic to South Africa, where it is found Highveld grasslands of the northern Free State Province and the southwestern parts of Mpumalanga Province (Jacobsen 1989, De Waal 1978, Bates et al. 2014, Parusnath et al. 2017). Records of this species in KwaZulu-Natal Province (e.g. Bourquin 2004) apparently all refer to introduced populations that did not become established, and there are no confirmed records of natural populations in that province (Armstrong 2011). A record for Witsieshoek in the Free State and two records for western Lesotho (Ambrose 2006) are considered doubtful.
This species is listed on CITES Appendix II and is one of the most exported species from South Africa with 1,194 individuals exported between 1985 and 2014 for pet trade (Parusnath et al. 2017, UNEP-WCMC 2017). It is also found in the illegal pet trade, and harvested for traditional medicines (see Parusnath et al. 2017 for a review), so the actual number of animals removed from the wild is not known, and is potentially much higher than what is recorded by CITES. Most CITES exports are to the USA, Japan and Germany, with about 30% of total CITES exports listed as captive bred. In the last decade, 70% of the animals exported were reported as captive bred. However, the captive bred exports are suspect because there are no records of captive breeding success (see Parusnath et al. 2017). A significant number of captive animals also exported from non-range states, such as Mozambique, India and Italy suggesting that wild caught animals are laundered as captive bred animals from both South Africa, and non-range states.
This species is listed in CITES Appendix II. The two most tangible threats to this species are habitat transformation and targeted removals of adults from the wild for trade. Extinction risk for this species would be greatly improved with amelioration of those two direct threats. This species does not currently occur within any protected areas, so incorporation of multiple large patches of grassland into the protected area network would be an immediate first step to ensuring this species survival. The threat from illegal trade is likely substantial, and strong law enforcement to curb this is urgently needed. These actions should be linked to long-term population monitoring programs and stewardship programs for landowners that encourages protection of existing natural habitats as well as rehabilitation of degraded or transformed habitats. An understanding of gene flow would assist to determine whether natural recolonization is feasible, or whether translocations should be considered for areas that are rehabilitated. This species is a candidate for a Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP; see South African National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act, Act No. 10 of 2004). BMPs aim to ensure the long-term survival of species in the wild, and provide a framework for implementation of management actions.