High mountainous moraines, as well as outcrops of bedrock surrounded by alpine grasslands, are being utilized as the main habitat by this snake. Deposits of rocks provide snakes with deep hibernation dens, but also serve as daily shelters and protection from overheating and/or overcooling as well as from predators. Also rocky deposits support important food resources: rock lizards (mainly "Darevskia valentini") and small rodents ("Microtus ssp."). Darevsky's vipers are diurnal snakes, and during the day they often move inside the rocky deposits to maintain optimal body temperature, which is about 26–28 °C (79-82 °F).