Salvadora hexalepis had a mean preferred body temperature in the laboratory of 33.0 C, a mean critical thermal minimum of 7.0 C, and a mean critical thermal maximum of 43.8 C. Oxygen consumption and heart rate increased with temperature, and greatest changes in these parameters at high and low temperature extremes. Cardiac and metabolic responses area what would be predicted for a reptile the size of S. hexalepis. A wide range of thermal tolerance is suggested as an important adaptation for a snake that is primarily a lizard predator.