The Selvagens Islands population has variously been treated as a subspecies Tarentola boettgeri bischoffi or the full species Tarentola bischoffi (summarized in Speybroeck et al. 2020). Speybroeck et al. (2020) note that recognizing it as a full species would render T. boettgeri paraphyletic without further taxonomic changes. This assessment therefore follows Speybroeck et al. (2020) and an earlier Red List assessment (Sá-Sousa et al. 2009) in treating T. b. bischoffi as a subspecies.

This species is endemic to the European Macaronesian island groups, the Canaries (Spain) and the Selvagens Archipelago (Portugal). It is assessed as Least Concern globally and for the EU 27 Member States because its extent of occurrence is approximately 40,000 km², it is common, occurs in habitats that are not significantly threatened, and is presently only subject to declines in a minority of its range. Due to the rate of declines reported in areas invaded by the California Kingsnake, should this invasive species become substantially more widespread - and particularly should it reach other islands within the gecko's range - this species may require reassessment.

This species is endemic to Spain (Canary Islands) and Portugal (Selvagens Archipelago) in Europe. In the Canary Islands, it is restricted to the islands of El Hierro and Gran Canaria, where it is generally found throughout both islands, but it is rare above 750 m asl and absent over 1,000 m asl. The subspecies Tarentola boettgeri bischoffi is endemic to the uninhabited Selvages Archipelago where it is present on the islands of Selvagem Grande, Selvagem Pequena and Ilhéu de Fora.

It is a very common species in both the Canary Islands and the Selvagens Archipelago. Using targeted active searches of suitable microhabitat between May and September 2018 (a total sampling effort of 206.7 hrs), Piquet and López-Darias (2021) found a total of 2,070 individuals in snake-free parts of Gran Canaria, but fewer than half as many (991) in sites where the California kingsnake has been established. The species was found to be significantly less abundant than invaded than uninvaded areas, with the strongest difference found in the East zone where the kingsnake has been longest-established (since 2007).

This species is found in rocky areas, often near to the coast. It is also sometimes found in houses. This species is absent from areas of Canary Pine forest. The species shelters beneath rocks during the day. The subspecies Tarentola boettgeri bischoffi is found in rocky and coastal areas, where it uses the burrows of petrels and other seabirds. The females lay a (presumably repeated) clutch of a single egg.

The California Kingsnake was introduced to Gran Canaria in 1998 (Cabrera-Pérez et al. 2012), and has now become established in areas of the North, East and South zones of the island (Piquet and López-Darias 2021), amounting to approximately 50% of the island. Although the results reported by Piquet and López-Darias (2021) suggest that this species is less strongly impacted by the invasive snake than the other two native lizards, which may be a consequence of its nocturnal habits and diurnal refuge selection, it is significantly less abundant in invaded than uninvaded sites (Piquet and López-Darias 2021). The snake is known to prey on the wall gecko (Monzón-Argüello et al. 2015), and this is presumably the mechanism driving declines. The snake is still present over a minority of the island, but new established populations have been recognized as recently as 2015 (in the South zone).

There is no known use of or trade in this species.

It is protected by international legislation and occurs in several protected areas, including the Ilhas Selvagens Nature Reserve in the Selvages Archipelago. Piquet and López-Darias (2021) report that communicating their findings regarding the impacts of kingsnakes on all three native lizards with local authorities has resulted in increased funding for efforts at snake control and exclusion, and the development of a Strategic Control Plan to Fight against the California kingsnake 2019–2022 which aims to increase biosecurity between islands in the Canary Islands. Efficient management is urgently required to prevent the kingsnake from further expanding its range both on Gran Canaria and on other islands in the archipelago (Piquet and López-Darias 2021). Translocations of lizards to reinforce local subpopulations may also be effective in at least preventing complete local extinction (Piquet and López-Darias 2021). Further research is required into the impacts of invasive snakes more broadly (Piquet and López-Darias 2021).