Desert Banded Geckos are found in southeastern California, southern tip of Nevada, and western Arizona. They are the nominal subspecies of the Western Banded Gecko. There are four subspecies of the Western Banded Gecko: Desert Banded Gecko, San Diego Banded Gecko, Tucson Banded Gecko, and Utah Banded Gecko.

Desert Banded geckos are found in a variety of dry habitats, from sand dues to desert scrublands. They are nocturnal, and find shelter under rocks and in mammal burrows during daylight hours. At night, they hunt for invertebrates and can be frequently seen warming up on or crossing roads. Their most active time is late spring to early summer. Large adults can be 5-6" in total length. When startled, they can move at a fairly fast rate, but still not at the same speeds as daytime lizards.

Juvenile desert banded geckos are more strongly banded, as they mature the bands starts be rounded or faded along the edges. Breeding occurs in the warmer months and several clutches are laid. Clutch size is around two eggs. Like some species of lizards, female banded geckos can store sperm.

A wide variety of predators prey on banded geckos, major predators include night snakes, leaf-nosed snakes, large invertebrates and rattlesnakes. If the gecko was out during the day, several daytime lizard would use them as a meal. Banded gecko's defense against predation is to wave their tail and nope the predator grabs the tail so it can fall off and give the gecko time to escape.