Reptiles of Saudi Arabia: The Complete List

Saudi Arabia’s landscapes shift quickly from wind-swept dunes to rocky wadis and foggy mountain slopes, creating surprisingly varied habitats for cold-blooded life. Overlooked by many visitors, the peninsula supports lizards, snakes, geckos and amphisbaenians adapted to arid plains, coastal fringes and highland refuges.

There are 74 Reptiles of Saudi Arabia, ranging from Arabian Chameleon to Zarudny’s Worm Lizard; for each species you’ll find below Scientific name,Max length (cm),Where found (regions) to help with identification and regional context.

Are any of these reptiles dangerous or protected in Saudi Arabia?

A few snakes are venomous and should be treated with caution, but most reptiles are not aggressive; handling any wild animal is discouraged. Several species have protected status or are of conservation concern, so check local wildlife regulations before collecting or disturbing animals and report notable sightings to regional authorities or researchers.

How can I use the list to identify species in the field?

Start with the Scientific name to match photos or field guides, use Max length (cm) to confirm size, and narrow possibilities by Where found (regions); combining those columns with clear photos and habitat notes will make field identification much easier.

Reptiles of Saudi Arabia

Images and Descriptions

Arabian Chameleon

This slow-moving lizard is a master of disguise, changing color to match its surroundings. It uses its long, sticky tongue to catch insects from a distance. Its prehensile tail and pincer-like feet make it an expert climber in its mountain habitat.

Arabian Cobra

A large, highly venomous snake, often dark brown or black. When threatened, it rears up and spreads a hood like other cobras. Its potent neurotoxic venom makes it extremely dangerous, and encounters should be avoided. It preys on rodents, birds, and other reptiles.

Arabian Coral Snake

A sleek, black, highly venomous snake with smooth scales. Despite its name, it is an elapid related to cobras, not a true coral snake. It is nocturnal and hunts lizards and rodents in their burrows. Its venom is a potent neurotoxin.

Arabian Fat-tailed Scorpion Gecko

A unique, ground-dwelling gecko with a stout body and a thick, carrot-shaped tail used for fat storage. It is nocturnal and secretive, preying on insects and other small arthropods. It lacks the sticky toe pads seen in climbing geckos.

Arabian Fringe-fingered Lizard

This lizard is perfectly adapted to desert life, with fringed toes that act like snowshoes, allowing it to run swiftly across loose sand. It is active during the day, hunting for insects and spiders, and digs burrows to escape the heat.

Arabian Horned Viper

A classic desert snake, famous for the horn-like scales above its eyes. It’s a master of camouflage, burying itself in sand to ambush prey. This viper is highly venomous, and its bite requires immediate medical attention. It moves using a distinct sidewinding motion.

Arabian Kukri Snake

A small, secretive, and rarely seen snake. It is named for its specialized, flattened rear teeth. It is a harmless, nocturnal burrower that likely feeds on insect larvae and eggs. Its coloration is typically a uniform reddish-brown or orange.

Arabian Leopard Gecko

This attractive, nocturnal gecko is popular in the pet trade. Unlike most geckos, it has movable eyelids and lacks sticky toe pads. It stores fat in its thick tail. Wild populations are rare, preferring rocky areas where they hunt insects and spiders at night.

Arabian Rear-fanged Sand Snake

A very fast, slender, and alert snake active during the day. It actively hunts lizards, small rodents, and birds. It is mildly venomous, but its rear fangs and weak venom pose no significant threat to humans. Its coloration is highly variable.

Arabian Red Fox Snake

A small, nocturnal snake adapted for burrowing in sandy soils. It has a distinctive pointed snout that helps it move through the sand. It is non-venomous and feeds primarily on small lizards and their eggs, which it digs up from the sand.

Arabian Sand Boa

This small, thick-bodied snake is a powerful constrictor. It spends most of its life buried beneath the sand, with only its eyes exposed, waiting to ambush lizards and rodents. It is completely harmless to humans.

Arabian Sandfish

This skink is famous for its ability to “swim” through sand. Its smooth, shiny scales and wedge-shaped snout allow it to dive into and move effortlessly beneath the surface to escape predators or heat. It feeds on insects and spiders.

Arabian Sand Gecko

A delicate, nocturnal gecko with large eyes and webbed feet that help it move across soft sand. Its translucent skin gives it a ghostly appearance. It hunts for small insects and arthropods on the sand surface at night.

Arabian Short-fingered Gecko

A very small, ground-dwelling gecko. Unlike its sand-dwelling relatives, it prefers harder ground like gravel plains. It is nocturnal, emerging at night to hunt for tiny insects like ants and termites. Its small size makes it difficult to spot.

Arabian Spiny-tailed Lizard

Locally known as ‘Dhub’, this large herbivorous lizard is a desert icon. It has a heavily-spiked tail used for defense and lives in extensive burrows. Though docile, its powerful jaws and tail can deliver a painful blow. It is a popular food source.

Arabian Toad-headed Agama

This small, flattened agama is a sand-specialist. It can vibrate its body to quickly bury itself in loose sand. When threatened, it may curl its tail and open its mouth to display colorful internal flaps to startle predators.

Arabian Wolf Snake

A small, nocturnal, and non-venomous snake. It is a constrictor that primarily feeds on skinks and geckos. Its common name comes from its long front teeth, which help it grip slippery-scaled prey. It is harmless to humans.

Asian Rock Gecko

A small, diurnal gecko often seen waving its curled tail in a semaphore-like signal to other geckos. It is common in rocky areas and on buildings, where it actively hunts for small insects during the day.

Baluch Ground Gecko

A common, nocturnal, ground-dwelling gecko. It is easily identified by the rows of prominent, trihedral tubercles along its back and tail. It is often found under rocks or debris during the day, emerging at night to hunt for insects.

Banded Ground Gecko

An introduced species, likely from the pet trade. This large, striking gecko has a prominent white stripe running down its back and bold bands on its tail. It is nocturnal and often found on walls and buildings where it hunts insects.

Bibron’s Agama

A robust, colorful agama native to North Africa, now found in some Saudi cities. Males display brilliant blue, green, and orange colors during the breeding season. They are active during the day, often seen basking on walls and rocks while hunting insects.

Blanford’s Short-nosed Sand Snake

A slender, diurnal snake found in the cooler, more vegetated highlands of the southwest. It is less desert-adapted than its relatives, preferring areas with more cover. It is mildly venomous and hunts lizards and frogs.

Bosc’s Fringe-toed Lizard

A common and adaptable lizard found in a variety of arid habitats, but avoids deep sand. It is a fast-moving, diurnal predator of insects and other small arthropods. Males often have reddish tails and blue spots on their flanks.

Bouton’s Snake-eyed Skink

A small, slender skink perfectly adapted to coastal life. It is often seen foraging in the intertidal zone, even tolerating saltwater spray. It has a fixed, transparent scale over its eye, giving it the “snake-eyed” appearance.

Burton’s Carpet Viper

A highly venomous viper with a beautiful, intricate pattern that provides excellent camouflage among rocks. It is primarily nocturnal, hunting rodents, lizards, and birds. Its potent hemotoxic venom makes its bite a serious medical emergency.

Cape Cobra

A highly venomous elapid from southern Africa, with an unconfirmed but reported introduced population. It is known for its potent neurotoxic venom. It is typically yellowish or brownish and is active during the day, hunting a wide variety of prey.

Desert Monitor

The largest lizard in Saudi Arabia, this powerful predator roams vast territories in search of prey. It feeds on anything it can overpower, including rodents, snakes, lizards, and carrion. It has a painful, bacteria-rich bite but is not venomous.

Diadem Snake

A large, powerful, non-venomous constrictor. It is recognized by a distinctive diamond or diadem-shaped marking on its head. It is a robust snake that preys on rodents, birds, and lizards, making it beneficial to have around agricultural areas.

Egyptian Fan-fingered Gecko

A large gecko with distinctive fan-shaped toe pads that allow it to cling to vertical rock faces and ceilings. It is nocturnal, often found in caves or on buildings, where it ambushes insects. It can make a loud chirping sound.

Egyptian Mastigure

A very large, dark-colored spiny-tailed lizard. This subspecies prefers the dark, rocky lava fields of the western regions. It is primarily herbivorous, feeding on desert plants, and uses its formidable spiny tail for defense against predators.

Fan-footed Rock Gecko

Slightly smaller than its relative, P. hasselquistii, this gecko is also a rock-climbing specialist. Its fan-like toes give it superb grip on sheer surfaces. It is nocturnal, preying on insects found in its rocky habitat.

Flowery Snake

A slender, fast-moving snake that is active during the day. It has a variable pattern, often with dark blotches on a lighter background. It is non-venomous and feeds on lizards, rodents, and frogs found in the more vegetated mountain wadis.

FORSKAL’s Sand Snake

A swift, slender, and alert diurnal snake. Its coloration is highly variable, ranging from striped to uniform olive or brown. It actively hunts lizards and small rodents. It is mildly venomous, but not dangerous to humans.

Greek Tortoise

This medium-sized tortoise has a high-domed shell and is found in the northern parts of the country. It is a herbivore, feeding on grasses and desert plants. Populations are threatened by habitat loss and collection for the pet trade.

Green Sea Turtle

A large marine turtle named for the color of its body fat, not its shell. It is commonly seen in Saudi waters, feeding on seagrass and algae. Females come ashore on sandy beaches, such as at Ras Baridi, to lay their eggs.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Critically endangered, this turtle is recognized by its narrow, hawk-like beak, used to feed on sponges in coral reefs. Its beautifully patterned shell was historically harvested for “tortoiseshell,” leading to severe population declines.

Heyden’s Rock Gecko

A common, adaptable house gecko. It is frequently found on walls and buildings in cities and towns, as well as in more natural rocky habitats. It is nocturnal and feeds on insects attracted to artificial lights.

Horned Sand-Viper

Similar to the Arabian Horned Viper, this species is also a desert specialist with prominent horns. It uses sidewinding to move across hot sand and ambushes prey from beneath the surface. It is highly venomous, and its bite can be fatal without treatment.

Jayakar’s Sand Boa

This small boa is a master burrower, spending nearly its entire life underground. It ambushes prey by striking from the sand. It is completely non-venomous and has a stout body with a blunt tail, typical of sand boas.

Javelin Sand Boa

A small, non-venomous constrictor that burrows in soft soil and sand. It is mostly nocturnal or crepuscular, hunting small rodents and lizards. Its common name comes from an ancient Greek practice of using them as projectiles in warfare.

Laungwala’s Ground Gecko

A small, slender gecko with a distinctly thin body and tail. It is a nocturnal, ground-dwelling species that is fast and agile. It hunts for small insects on open ground at night.

Lesser Cerastes Viper

A small desert viper that lacks the prominent horns of its relatives. It is an ambush predator that buries itself in the sand with only its eyes and snout showing. It is venomous, and though small, its bite requires medical care.

Levantine Frog-eyed Gecko

A large, unique ground gecko with large, fish-like scales and big eyes. It is known for making a rattling sound by rubbing its large scales together when threatened. It is nocturnal and digs deep burrows to escape daytime heat.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Named for its large head and powerful jaws, this turtle feeds on hard-shelled prey like crabs and conchs. It is an endangered species that nests on several Saudi Arabian islands and mainland beaches.

Long-nosed Desert Lizard

This lizard is a true sand specialist, with very long toes fringed with scales for traction on loose sand. It is extremely fast and agile, darting across dunes to hunt insects during the cool parts of the day.

Mediterranean House Gecko

A highly successful invasive species, this gecko is now found in urban areas across the country. It is nocturnal, has a distinctive warty skin, and can be heard making chirping calls at night while hunting insects near lights.

Moila Snake

A large, fast, and alert snake, also known as the Hooded Malpolon. When threatened, it can flatten its neck into a hood, mimicking a cobra. It is mildly venomous, with rear fangs, but is not considered dangerous to humans.

Ocellated Skink

A smooth, glossy skink with a cylindrical body and small legs. It is often found in oases, farms, and gardens where the soil is moist. It “swims” through loose soil and preys on insects and their larvae.

Olive Sea Snake

A true sea snake that is fully aquatic. It has a paddle-like tail for swimming and must surface to breathe air. It is highly venomous, preying on fish in coral reef environments. It is rarely aggressive but should be treated with extreme caution.

Ornate Spiny-tailed Lizard

One of the most colorful lizards in Saudi Arabia. Males display stunning patterns of blue, green, and red, especially during breeding season. This herbivore lives in rock crevices and basks on boulders in its mountain habitat.

Painted Saw-scaled Viper

A highly venomous viper with a vibrant, blotched pattern providing excellent camouflage among stones. It is primarily nocturnal, hunting rodents, lizards, and birds. Its potent hemotoxic venom makes its bite a serious medical emergency.

Pale Agama

A medium-sized lizard, typically grayish or sandy in color to blend in with its surroundings. It often perches on top of small bushes or rocks to bask and watch for insects. Males can develop a blue throat when displaying.

Persian Wonder Gecko

A large, robust gecko with big eyes and large, overlapping scales. It can produce a rattling sound by vibrating its tail scales. It is nocturnal, living in self-dug burrows and emerging at night to hunt for beetles and other large insects.

Philby’s Rock Gecko

A small, diurnal gecko endemic to the high mountains of Yemen and southwest Saudi Arabia. It is known for its tail-waving displays. It is very active during the day, hunting insects on rock faces and in crevices.

Red Sea Reef Snake

A common sea snake found in coastal waters. It has a yellowish body with dark bands. Like other sea snakes, it is highly venomous, preying on fish. It is adapted for aquatic life with a paddle-tail and valved nostrils.

Rock Semaphore Gecko

A small, dark, diurnal gecko. It gets its name from its habit of constantly flicking and curling its tail, likely for communication. It is very common on rocks and buildings in the western mountains, where it hunts for ants and other small insects.

Rough-tailed Bowfoot Gecko

A common, adaptable gecko with a rough texture due to raised tubercles on its skin. It is often found in disturbed habitats and on buildings. It is nocturnal and hunts a variety of small insects and spiders.

Sand Boa

This small to medium-sized boa is a powerful constrictor. It has a blotched pattern of orange or yellow on a brown background. It is a burrowing species that ambushes small mammals and lizards from below the surface. Harmless to humans.

Sandstone Agama

This agama prefers rocky habitats over sandy ones. Its flattened body allows it to squeeze into narrow rock crevices to hide from predators and escape the heat. Males develop a bright blue head and throat during the breeding season.

Saudi Fringe-fingered Lizard

A species of fringe-fingered lizard specifically adapted to the habitats of central Saudi Arabia. Like its relatives, it uses its fringed toes for traction on sandy patches within its rocky domain as it hunts for insects.

Saw-scaled Viper

One of the most medically significant snakes in the region. This small viper is known for its aggressive nature and potent hemotoxic venom. It produces a loud rasping sound by rubbing its serrated scales together as a warning.

Schmidt’s Fringe-fingered Lizard

An archetypal desert lizard, perfectly adapted for life on shifting dunes. Its fringed toes are a key adaptation for running on loose sand. It is a diurnal insectivore, active during the cooler parts of the day.

Schokari’s Cat Snake

A slender, nocturnal snake with a cat-like vertical pupil. It is mildly venomous and uses its rear fangs to subdue lizards and geckos, its primary prey. It is an agile climber, often foraging in rock crevices and low bushes.

Sinai Agama

Famous for the brilliant, almost fluorescent blue color that males develop during the breeding season to attract females. It is a diurnal, rock-dwelling lizard that often basks on prominent boulders while watching for insect prey.

Small-scaled Rock Agama

Originally from the Levant, this large, spiny agama has established populations in some Saudi cities. It is robust, with a spiky appearance. It is diurnal and can be seen basking on walls, feeding on insects and some plant matter.

Southern Worm Lizard

A legless, burrowing reptile that looks like a large earthworm. It is pinkish and spends its entire life underground, hunting for ants, termites, and other invertebrates. It is rarely seen on the surface, except sometimes after heavy rains.

Spotted Fan-toed Gecko

This rock-dwelling gecko is identified by the dark spots on its back. Like other Ptyodactylus, its large, fanned-out toes give it exceptional climbing ability on sheer rock faces. It is nocturnal and preys on insects.

Spotted Sand-Viper

Also known as the Avicenna Viper, this is a small desert snake that lacks the horns of its relatives. It is an ambush predator, burying itself in the sand to catch lizards. Its venom is toxic and requires medical attention, despite its small size.

Thorn-tailed Agama

A medium-sized agama found in the mountains. It is characterized by its spiny scales, especially on the tail. It is a diurnal insectivore, often seen basking on rocks. The throat of breeding males can turn a vibrant blue.

Turkish Gecko

A highly successful colonizer, this nocturnal gecko is now one of the most common reptiles in Saudi cities. It has bumpy skin and a somewhat translucent, pinkish color. It is often heard making squeaking calls at night.

Wadi Racer

A very fast, slender, and agile snake that is active during the day. It is an excellent climber on rock faces and often hunts near water, feeding on fish, tadpoles, lizards, and rodents. It is non-venomous and harmless to humans.

Yellow-bellied House Gecko

A common nocturnal gecko often seen near lights hunting insects. It is an introduced species that has adapted well to urban environments. Its sticky toe pads allow it to climb vertical surfaces with ease. It is completely harmless and beneficial.

Yemeni Monitor

A rare and beautiful monitor lizard, dark with yellow markings. Unlike the desert monitor, it is an adept climber, spending time in trees. It feeds on insects, birds, and other small animals. Its habitat is threatened by agriculture and development.

Zarudny’s Worm Lizard

A strange, legless reptile perfectly adapted to a burrowing lifestyle. It has pinkish, worm-like skin and reduced eyes. It lives underground, hunting for insects and their larvae, and is only occasionally seen on the surface.

Reptiles in Other Countries