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 · Chile Ministry of Environment, Liolaemus kolengh assessment
October management
Selected automatically using the Netherlands date
Birth / recovery window
Cold, windy high-elevation steppe with flat stones and sparse cushion vegetation - Santa Cruz, Argentina and Aysen, Chile
14-18 CDay ambient
8-10 CNight
31-34 C limitedBasking
2-3T5 UVI*
10.5 hPhotoperiod
8 h 30 mT5 UVB duration
Light local moistureMoisture
2-3 mixedAdult food offers*
Annual schedule
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| Month | Day ambient | Night | Basking | T5 UVI* | Photoperiod | T5 UVB duration | Moisture | Adult food offers* | Seasonal management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7-10 C | 5-7 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; mostly dry | None | Core cooling - winter rest |
| February | 7-10 C | 5-7 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; mostly dry | None | Core cooling - winter rest |
| March | 10-14 C | 6-8 C | 29-32 C limited | 1-2 | 9 h | 7 h | Light local moisture | 1 late | Staged warm-up |
| April | 14-18 C | 8-10 C | 31-34 C | 2-3 | 10.5 h | 8 h 30 m | Mostly dry; water always | 2-3 | Emergence / reconditioning |
| May | 17-21 C | 9-12 C | 32-35 C | 3-4 | 12 h | 10 h | Dry; strong ventilation | 3-4 mixed | Full activity / courtship watch |
| June | 19-23 C | 10-13 C | 33-36 C | 3-4 | 13.5 h | 11 h 30 m | Dry; water always | 4 mixed | Main mating / breeding window |
| July | 20-24 C | 11-14 C | 33-36 C | 3-4 | 14 h | 12 h | Dry; water always | 4 mixed | Early-mid gestation |
| August | 19-23 C | 10-13 C | 33-36 C | 3-4 | 13.5 h | 11 h 30 m | Dry; water always | 4 mixed | Gestation |
| September | 17-21 C | 9-12 C | 32-35 C | 2-3 | 12 h | 10 h | Mostly dry | 3-4 mixed | Late gestation / births possible |
| October | 14-18 C | 8-10 C | 31-34 C limited | 2-3 | 10.5 h | 8 h 30 m | Light local moisture | 2-3 mixed | Birth / recovery window |
| November | 10-14 C | 6-8 C | 29-32 C limited | 1-2 | 9 h | 7 h | Light local moisture | 1 then stop | Autumn taper / juvenile watch |
| December | 7-10 C | 5-7 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; mostly dry | 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 kolengh was described from Monte/Cerro Ceballos near Rio Ceballos, Santa Cruz, Argentina, at about 1485 m and is also documented from Lago Jeinimeni National Reserve in Chile.
Habitat and thermal biology
Jeinimeni animals occupied an extreme cold, windy landscape with less than about 10% vegetation cover. Recent work at 1329 m found L. kolengh largely thermoconforming. Earlier experiments reported preferred temperature near 31.8 C and broad tolerance to cold.
Diet
Field faeces contained both plant matter and insects, supporting an omnivorous model. Use varied gut-loaded invertebrates as a major component and offer safe leafy greens, edible flowers and tender plant material regularly; do not rely on mealworms as a staple.
Reproduction
Current databases and comparative datasets treat the species as viviparous/ovoviviparous. Use a live-bearing management model unless direct stock evidence shows otherwise. Exact species-specific mating and birth dates remain less well resolved than the thermal ecology.
Breeding timing
Use spring emergence and early active-season pairing as the main working courtship window, with gestation through the warm season and births toward late summer/early autumn. The table shifts this model about six months for a Northern Hemisphere keeper calendar.
Keeper warning
This is a cold-climate species: avoid high whole-enclosure temperatures even when providing a warm local basking rock. Separate for persistent aggression, refuge exclusion, suppressed basking or weight loss. Cool only healthy animals with an empty gut.