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 12 h; T5 UVB 10 h.
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 3directly 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
Autumn
Open eucalypt woodland, Acacia shrubland and limestone country - Mid West, Western Australia
26 CDay ambient
16 CNight
43 CBasking
3T5 UVI*
12 hPhotoperiod
10 hT5 UVB duration
1 light local spray every 10-14 days; water alwaysSpray / water
ModerateFeeding
Spray / water: rates are provisional captive working targets for mainland badia, not experimentally established requirements. Fresh drinking water is available all year. Spray locally, preserve dry refuges and let wetted surfaces dry.
Annual schedule
Scroll sideways on smaller screens
| Month | Day ambient | Night | Basking | T5 UVI* | Photoperiod | T5 UVB duration | Spray / water | Feeding | Seasonal management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19 C | 11 C | 30 C | 2 | 10 h | 8 h | 1-2 light local sprays/week; water always | Low | Winter |
| February | 20 C | 11 C | 32 C | 2 | 10 h | 8 h | 1 light local spray/week; water always | Low | Winter |
| March | 21 C | 12 C | 35 C | 2 | 11 h | 9 h | 1 light local spray/week; water always | Moderate | Courtship |
| April | 24 C | 14 C | 39 C | 3 | 12 h | 10 h | 1 light local spray every 10-14 days; water always | Moderate | Courtship |
| May | 26 C | 16 C | 43 C | 3 | 12 h | 10 h | 1 light local spray every 2-3 weeks; water always | High | Mating |
| June | 28 C | 18 C | 46 C | 3 | 13 h | 11 h | 0-1 light local spray/month; water always | High | Gestation |
| July | 29 C | 19 C | 48 C | 4 | 14 h | 12 h | 0-1 light local spray/month; water always | High | Births |
| August | 31 C | 22 C | 49 C | 4 | 14 h | 12 h | 0-1 light local spray/month; water always | High | Births |
| September | 29 C | 19 C | 47 C | 3-4 | 13 h | 11 h | 1 light local spray every 2-3 weeks; water always | High | Late summer |
| October | 26 C | 16 C | 43 C | 3 | 12 h | 10 h | 1 light local spray every 10-14 days; water always | Moderate | Autumn |
| November | 22 C | 13 C | 37 C | 2 | 11 h | 9 h | 1 light local spray/week; water always | Low | Pre-winter |
| December | 20 C | 12 C | 32 C | 2 | 10 h | 8 h | 1-2 light local sprays/week; water always | Low | Winter |
Additional original settings
Preserved humidity and lamp-duration values. Use the main table’s T5 UVB duration for UVB timing.
- January
- Lamp: 5 h; Day RH: 60%; Night RH: 65%
- February
- Lamp: 5 h; Day RH: 55%; Night RH: 60%
- March
- Lamp: 6 h; Day RH: 45%; Night RH: 50%
- April
- Lamp: 7 h; Day RH: 40%; Night RH: 45%
- May
- Lamp: 8 h; Day RH: 35%; Night RH: 40%
- June
- Lamp: 9 h; Day RH: 35%; Night RH: 40%
- July
- Lamp: 10 h; Day RH: 35%; Night RH: 40%
- August
- Lamp: 10 h; Day RH: 40%; Night RH: 45%
- September
- Lamp: 9 h; Day RH: 45%; Night RH: 50%
- October
- Lamp: 8 h; Day RH: 48%; Night RH: 55%
- November
- Lamp: 6 h; Day RH: 55%; Night RH: 60%
- December
- Lamp: 5 h; Day RH: 60%; Night RH: 65%
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.
Social housing and enclosure
Maintain a stable compatible group rather than routine solitary housing. For two animals, provide floor dimensions of at least 2.5 times the longest resident's total length per side, adding about 20% for each additional animal. Monitor access to basking, food and refuges.
Log castles and substrate
Build a substantial permanent refuge from securely fixed hollow logs and fallen branches, with limestone-style cracks as secondary cover. Provide several entrances and internal routes across the thermal gradient. Use approximately 5 cm of red-sand substrate.
Basking and UVB
Target a 43-49 C basking surface from July through September, reducing gradually to about 30-32 C in December-February. Use UVI 3-4 during peak activity and around UVI 2 in winter, always with complete shade inside refuges.
Diet and water
Juveniles feed more frequently and take more invertebrates. Adults become predominantly herbivorous and usually feed every two to three days. Base the diet on varied leafy greens and safe weeds, with fruit only as an occasional treat and gut-loaded insects as a smaller component. Keep shallow fresh water available.
Breeding
This subspecies is live-bearing. On the shifted Netherlands calendar, courtship is expected mainly from March through June and births from June through September. Litters are usually one to three young, although larger litters are reported. Females may mature at about 18 months to two years and males at around three years.
Keeper warning
This subspecies is conservation-listed in Australia. Confirm all legal keeping, transfer and breeding requirements for the animals' documented origin. Separate an individual if there is persistent aggression, refuge exclusion, feeding suppression, injury or declining body mass.
Drinking water
Keep a stable shallow dish of clean fresh drinking water available all year. Wash and refill daily and whenever soiled. Drier summer spray targets do not mean restricting drinking water.
Light local spraying
Spray only a limited cool-side surface or accessible log/refuge entrance, creating droplets rather than soaking the log castle, bedding or whole enclosure. Retain dry refuges and allow wetted surfaces to dry between applications. Use fewer sprays if the enclosure is slow to dry or measured humidity remains elevated. During shedding or observed drinking needs, provide additional local droplets or a sheltered moisture option rather than rigidly withholding water.
Western Australian seasonal moisture
Badia is a mainland woodland/log-refuge form, distinct from the maritime Houtman Abrolhos nominate stokesii and eastern zellingi. Mullewa and Morawa climate proxies show predominantly cool-season rainfall. With the existing six-month Netherlands shift, light moisture pulses increase in November-February and decrease in June-August. These working spray frequencies are conservative captive recommendations inferred from climate and husbandry, not proven subspecies-specific misting requirements. Known provenance and animal response take priority.
Winter slowdown and hibernation
This existing badia schedule retains short daily basking and low feeding in winter; do not treat it as mandatory deep brumation. Follow the monthly UVB duration while animals remain active. If a separate full-dormancy protocol is implemented, UVB is OFF during dormancy and scheduled spraying is replaced by careful refuge-moisture checks. Never leave dormant animals in saturated cold refuges.