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 1.5-2.5directly 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
High-humidity activity
Primary and secondary rainforest of Borneo; arboreal on trunks and lianas, commonly near streams and reported mainly below about 700 m
24-27 CDay ambient
21-23 CNight
30-33 CBasking
1.5-2.5T5 UVI*
12 hPhotoperiod
10 hT5 UVB duration
80-90 / 90-100%RH day / night*
Mist 2-3x/day; rain pulseSpray / rain
4Food*
Annual schedule
Scroll sideways on smaller screens
| Month | Day ambient | Night | Basking | T5 UVI* | Photoperiod | T5 UVB duration | RH day / night* | Spray / rain | Food* | Seasonal management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-32 C | 1-2 | 12 h | 10 h | 80-90 / 90-100% | Mist 2-3x/day; wet foliage | 4 | Humid maintenance / conditioning |
| February | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-32 C | 1-2 | 12 h | 10 h | 80-90 / 90-100% | Mist 2-3x/day; rain pulses | 4 | Conditioning / courtship |
| March | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-33 C | 1.5-2.5 | 12 h | 10 h | 80-90 / 90-100% | Mist 2-3x/day; moist nest | 4-5 | Breeding / documented laying |
| April | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-33 C | 1.5-2.5 | 12 h | 10 h | 80-90 / 90-100% | Mist 2-3x/day; moist nest | 4-5 | Breeding / possible laying |
| May | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-33 C | 1.5-2.5 | 12 h | 10 h | 78-90 / 90-100% | Mist 2x/day; moist nest | 4 | Incubation / recovery |
| June | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-32 C | 1-2 | 12 h | 10 h | 75-88 / 88-100% | Mist 2x/day; humid retreat | 4 | Humid maintenance |
| July | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-32 C | 1-2 | 12 h | 10 h | 75-88 / 88-100% | Mist 2x/day; humid retreat | 3-4 | Mildly lighter-rain phase |
| August | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-32 C | 1-2 | 12 h | 10 h | 75-88 / 88-100% | Mist 2x/day; humid retreat | 3-4 | Mildly lighter-rain phase |
| September | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-33 C | 1.5-2.5 | 12 h | 10 h | 78-90 / 90-100% | Mist 2-3x/day; rain pulse | 4 | Rain increasing / conditioning |
| October | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-33 C | 1.5-2.5 | 12 h | 10 h | 80-90 / 90-100% | Mist 2-3x/day; rain pulse | 4 | High-humidity activity |
| November | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-32 C | 1-2 | 12 h | 10 h | 80-92 / 92-100% | Mist 2-3x/day; wet foliage | 4 | Wet-season maintenance |
| December | 24-27 C | 21-23 C | 30-32 C | 1-2 | 12 h | 10 h | 80-92 / 92-100% | Mist 2-3x/day; wet foliage | 4 | Wet-season maintenance |
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.
Habitat and enclosure
Arboreal Bornean rainforest agamid, commonly on vertical trunks and lianas near streams. For one adult use about 120 x 70 x 150 cm or larger; specialist literature has recommended around 150 x 150 x 70 cm for Gonocephalus. Provide dense foliage, mixed branch diameters and visual barriers. Do not house adult males together.
Heat and UVB
Maintain 24-27 C daytime air with a local 30-33 C basking surface and broad cooler shade. A wild March oviposition site at 700 m measured only 22.3 C air and 21.3 C ground. UVI about 1-2.5 at exposed perches is a conservative captive target, with deep shade below 0.5.
Humidity and rain
Keep roughly 75-90% RH by day with stronger night peaks, but maintain continuous fresh airflow. Mist foliage and trunks 2-3 times daily in wetter phases and about twice daily in lighter-rain phases. Lower substrate stays humid while upper surfaces periodically dry.
Seasonality
Do not brumate. Keep an approximately 12 h photoperiod year-round. Use only subtle rainfall and food shifts because Borneo is equatorial and rainfall timing varies considerably by locality.
Diet
Primarily insectivorous. Rotate gut-loaded roaches, crickets, locusts, silkworms, black soldier fly larvae, earthworms and occasional snails. Adults generally receive 3-5 appropriately sized feeding opportunities weekly; juveniles need smaller prey more often.
Breeding and incubation
Published natural history reports up to four eggs per clutch. A directly observed female in South Kalimantan laid three eggs in March in a soil burrow about 5 cm deep. Keep a secluded slightly moist nest zone continuously. Because species-specific incubation data are sparse, 24-26 C is a conservative starting range and sustained high heat should be avoided.
Keeper warning
This is a specialist rainforest lizard. Excess heat, dehydration, poor ventilation, chronic exposure and handling stress can cause rapid decline. Prioritize dense cover, drinking droplets, fresh airflow and cool humid retreats, and monitor wild-origin animals particularly closely.