Keeper timer setting
T5 UVB: one hour later on, one hour earlier off
During active care — ON: 1 hour after daylight starts.
OFF: 1 hour before daylight ends.
During hibernation / full brumation: T5 UVB OFF (0 hours). In transition months, keep UVB off while dormant and use the active timer only once the animal is warmed and active.
October: daylight 10.5 h; T5 UVB 8 h 30 m.
The active T5 duration is the photoperiod minus two hours. Example: daylight 08:00–20:00 means UVB 09:00–19:00. Follow the monthly UVI strength measured beneath the tube and provide access to shade. This timing rule does not introduce hibernation for species whose schedule has only a mild or active winter rest. If an older combined heat / UV column is present, the new T5 UVB duration column governs UVB timing; existing heat settings are preserved.
UVI beneath the optional T5 tube
Working exposure targetOctober target at normal back height
UVI 2directly under the tube when it is on
The retained range remains a provisional captive working target. No new species-specific result was found that clearly requires a numerical change. Retaining it is not certification of an experimentally established optimum.
Your measuring point
Measure at the animal's normal back height directly beneath the brightest accessible part of the T5 strip, positioned toward the middle/back. The animal can enter and leave this area freely.
Keep a lower-UVI gradient and fully covered refuges near UVI 0. This is the optional exposure area, not the average across the cage.
Use a UV Index meter, such as a Solarmeter 6.5/6.5R. Warm the tube for about 30 minutes; keep reflector, guards and mesh in place. Raise or lower the fixture within its manufacturer's minimum-distance guidance, then recheck the reading and every higher accessible surface.
Evidence level: Provisional retention. These are working recommendations, often inferred; exact species optima and seasonal UV dose usually have not been measured. Log lamp-on time and animal behaviour as well as UVI.
Baines et al. (2016), UV-Tool · Muryn, Baines and Dishman (2026), Reptile Lighting Guide V10
October management
Selected automatically using the Netherlands date
Seasonal taper
Cold rocky Patagonian steppe and volcanic outcrops - western Argentina and southern Chile
13-17 CDay ambient
7-10 CNight
34-37 CBasking
2T5 UVI*
10.5 hPhotoperiod
8 h 30 mT5 UVB duration
Light local sprayMoisture
2-3Food offers*
Annual schedule
Scroll sideways on smaller screens
| Month | Day ambient | Night | Basking | T5 UVI* | Photoperiod | T5 UVB duration | Moisture | Food offers* | Seasonal management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7-10 C | 5-7 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; dry refuges | None | Winter rest |
| February | 7-10 C | 5-7 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; dry refuges | None | Winter rest |
| March | 9-13 C | 5-8 C | 32-35 C limited | 1 | 9 h | 7 h | Minimal local moisture | 1-2 late | Staged warm-up |
| April | 13-17 C | 7-10 C | 34-37 C | 2 | 10.5 h | 8 h 30 m | Light local spray 1x/wk | 2-3 | Reconditioning |
| May | 16-20 C | 9-12 C | 36-39 C | 2-3 | 12 h | 10 h | Mostly dry | 3-4 | Full activity / courtship watch |
| June | 18-22 C | 10-13 C | 37-40 C | 3 | 13.5 h | 11 h 30 m | Dry | 4-5 | Peak activity / mating watch |
| July | 20-24 C | 11-14 C | 38-41 C | 3-4 | 14 h | 12 h | Dry | 4-5 | Egg development watch |
| August | 19-23 C | 10-13 C | 38-40 C | 3-4 | 13.5 h | 11 h 30 m | Local moist nest zone | 4-5 | Nesting / egg-laying watch |
| September | 17-21 C | 9-12 C | 36-39 C | 2-3 | 12 h | 10 h | Local nest moisture | 3-4 | Post-lay recovery |
| October | 13-17 C | 7-10 C | 34-37 C | 2 | 10.5 h | 8 h 30 m | Light local spray | 2-3 | Seasonal taper |
| November | 9-13 C | 5-8 C | 32-34 C limited | 1 | 9 h | 7 h | Minimal | 1 then stop | Cooling |
| December | 7-10 C | 5-7 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; dry refuges | None | Winter rest |
Keeper notes
Use measured gradients and animal behaviour, not single thermostat readings
T5 UVI measurement
Measure UVI at normal back height directly beneath the brightest accessible part of the optional T5 strip. Place the strip toward the middle/back with free access to and away from it; preserve a gradient into fully covered refuges near UVI 0. These numbers describe the exposure area, not the whole enclosure or a daily average.
UVI review
The retained range remains a provisional captive working target. No new species-specific result was found that clearly requires a numerical change. Retaining it is not certification of an experimentally established optimum.
Identity and range
Diplolaemus sexcinctus is a valid Leiosauridae species described from Meseta Pedregosa near Las Bayas, Rio Negro, Argentina, at about 1100 m. It occurs in western Patagonia and southern Chile, with some records from much higher elevations.
Habitat and cold activity
Natural-history accounts place it in open Patagonian shrub steppe, rocky ground, scree and volcanic outcrops. It builds or uses galleries beneath large rocks and has been reported active at air temperatures around 5 C.
Thermal management
No direct preferred-temperature study was located. Use 38-41 C only as a local basking-surface starting point during peak activity while retaining cool ambient air and deep shaded refuges. UVI 3-4 is an operational starting point, not a measured species requirement.
Diet
Published accounts describe a strongly carnivorous diet of arthropods and other invertebrates, plus saurophagy and cannibalism. Base captive feeding on varied gut-loaded invertebrates; wild lizard predation does not require routine live-lizard feeding in captivity.
Breeding evidence
Oviparity is confirmed, but species-specific clutch size, nesting dates and incubation temperatures remain poorly documented. The May-June mating and July-August nesting windows are conservative working periods rather than published D. sexcinctus dates.
Keeper warning
Cannibalism and saurophagy are documented. Individual housing is the safest default. Introduce adults only under close observation with duplicate refuges and immediate separation capacity. Winter cooling should remain controlled and above freezing.