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 2-3directly under the tube when it is on
Offer UVI 3-4 in the optional T5 area during May-August, starting near 3, with lower spring/autumn targets. Rock/sun-basking ecology and general sunbeam guidance support this cautious working patch. It is not a measured species-specific optimum, and the recommendation is based on microhabitat and activity, not altitude alone. Keep immediate full shade and crevice retreats.
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: Inferred from sun-basking ecology. 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 · Argentine Herpetological Association, Liolaemus gununakuna
October management
Selected automatically using the Netherlands date
Juvenile period / recovery
Isolated rocky outcrops in extra-Andean Patagonian shrub-steppe - Neuquen and Rio Negro, Argentina
15-19 CDay ambient
8-11 CNight
31-34 C limitedBasking
2-3T5 UVI*
10.5 hPhotoperiod
8 h 30 mT5 UVB duration
Light local moistureMoisture
2-3Food offers*
Annual schedule
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| Month | Day ambient | Night | Basking | T5 UVI* | Photoperiod | T5 UVB duration | Moisture | Food offers* | Seasonal management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8-11 C | 6-8 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; light local moisture | None | Core cooling - winter rest |
| February | 8-11 C | 6-8 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; light local moisture | None | Core cooling - winter rest |
| March | 11-15 C | 7-9 C | 30-33 C limited | 1-2 | 9 h | 7 h | Light local moisture | 1 late | Staged warm-up |
| April | 15-19 C | 8-11 C | 32-35 C | 2-3 | 10.5 h | 8 h 30 m | Mostly dry; water always | 2-3 | Emergence / reconditioning |
| May | 18-22 C | 10-13 C | 34-36 C | 3-4 | 12 h | 10 h | Dry; strong ventilation | 3-4 | Territorial display / courtship |
| June | 20-24 C | 11-14 C | 35-37 C | 3-4 | 13.5 h | 11 h 30 m | Dry; water always | 4 | Main mating window |
| July | 21-25 C | 12-15 C | 35-38 C | 3-4 | 14 h | 12 h | Dry; water always | 4 | Early-mid gestation |
| August | 20-24 C | 11-14 C | 34-37 C | 3-4 | 13.5 h | 11 h 30 m | Dry; water always | 4 | Gestation |
| September | 18-22 C | 10-13 C | 33-36 C | 2-3 | 12 h | 10 h | Mostly dry | 3-4 | Births / juveniles may appear |
| October | 15-19 C | 8-11 C | 31-34 C limited | 2-3 | 10.5 h | 8 h 30 m | Light local moisture | 2-3 | Juvenile period / recovery |
| November | 11-15 C | 7-9 C | 30-32 C limited | 1-2 | 9 h | 7 h | Light local moisture | 1 then stop | Late juveniles / cooling |
| December | 8-11 C | 6-8 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; light local moisture | 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
Offer UVI 3-4 in the optional T5 area during May-August, starting near 3, with lower spring/autumn targets. Rock/sun-basking ecology and general sunbeam guidance support this cautious working patch. It is not a measured species-specific optimum, and the recommendation is based on microhabitat and activity, not altitude alone. Keep immediate full shade and crevice retreats.
Identity and locality
Liolaemus gununakuna was described in 2004 from 2 km southeast of La Amarga, Zapala Department, Neuquen, and is associated with the extra-Andean Patagonian lowlands.
Habitat and behaviour
The species is strongly saxicolous, using isolated rocky outcrops, boulders, flat rock and crevices within open sandy shrub-steppe. Field activity was sometimes bimodal, and animals rapidly retreated into crevices or beneath flat stones when disturbed.
Diet
Argentine references describe L. gununakuna as insectivorous. Base the active-season diet on varied appropriately sized gut-loaded invertebrates rather than fatty larvae or a single staple prey.
Reproduction
The original 2004 description could not directly confirm viviparity but noted that close relatives share that reproductive mode. Later Argentine and reptile-reference databases list the species as viviparous or ovoviviparous; current keeper management should therefore use a live-bearing working model unless direct stock evidence shows otherwise.
Breeding timing
Males were observed defending rocky territories in late November and early December in Argentina, while juveniles were seen from late March to early May. On this six-month-shifted schedule, use May-June as the main courtship/mating window and September-November as the principal birth/juvenile window.
Keeper warning
Territorial aggression is documented. Individual housing is the safest default. Separate immediately for persistent pursuit, fighting, bite injury, refuge exclusion, suppressed basking or declining body mass. Cool only healthy animals with an empty gut.