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
Autumn taper
Cold, arid volcanic plateau and shrub-steppe - south-western Rio Negro, Argentina
15-18 CDay ambient
6-9 CNight
37-39 CBasking
2T5 UVI*
10.5 hPhotoperiod
8 h 30 mT5 UVB duration
Minimal local sprayMoisture
1-2Food 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 | 8-12 C | 2-5 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; no spray | None | Dormant; monitor mass |
| February | 10-14 C | 3-6 C | Off; 36-38 C late | Off / 1 | 9 h | Off during rest; 7 h when active | Water check; no spray | None / restart late | Staged warm-up late |
| March | 14-18 C | 5-8 C | 38-40 C | 2-3 | 10 h | 8 h | Light spray every 10-14 d | 1-2 | Warm-up; courtship may begin |
| April | 18-21 C | 7-10 C | 40-42 C | 3-4 | 11.5 h | 9 h 30 m | Light spray every 10-14 d | 3-4 | Primary mating period |
| May | 20-23 C | 8-12 C | 41-43 C | 3-4 | 13 h | 11 h | Occasional local spray | 4-5 | Early gravidity |
| June | 21-24 C | 10-13 C | 41-43 C | 3-4 | 14 h | 12 h | Occasional local spray | 4-5 | Gravidity |
| July | 22-25 C | 11-14 C | 41-43 C | 3-4 | 14.5 h | 12 h 30 m | Occasional local spray | 4-5 | Late gestation |
| August | 21-24 C | 10-13 C | 40-42 C | 3-4 | 13.5 h | 11 h 30 m | Light spray every 10-14 d | 4-5 | Births may begin |
| September | 18-22 C | 8-12 C | 39-41 C | 2-3 | 12 h | 10 h | Light spray every 10-14 d | 3-4 | Main birth / recovery window |
| October | 15-18 C | 6-9 C | 37-39 C | 2 | 10.5 h | 8 h 30 m | Minimal local spray | 1-2 | Autumn taper |
| November | 10-14 C | 4-7 C | Off late | Off / 1 | 9 h | 7 h when active; then Off | Water check; no spray | Stop after gut clears | Cooling down |
| December | 8-12 C | 2-5 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; no spray | None | Inactive / brumation |
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 evidence
Phymaturus agilis was described from an isolated basaltic plateau near Ingeniero Jacobacci at about 1100 m. Integrative genetic and breeding work later synonymized it, P. spectabilis and P. excelsus under P. spurcus. This page retains the familiar keeper-facing name while stating the accepted treatment.
Climate translation
The native September-April activity season is shifted by six months for northern-hemisphere operation. The region is cold, dry and windy, with about 200 mm annual precipitation and winter frost. Wild air extremes are context only; deep crevices buffer animals, so captive refuges must stay measured and above freezing.
Heat and UVB
Published field modelling for the synonym complex used a 20 C activity threshold and 33.7 C preferred body temperature, but the underlying preference value was cited as unpublished. Use 39-43 C only as a local basking-surface starting point, with much cooler retreats. UVI 3-4 is an operational starting point, not a species-specific measured requirement.
Diet and structure
Provide stable rock crevices plus strong elevated shrub-like structure: the original description records climbing to about 3 m for flowers and fruits. Feed varied fibrous greens, safe browse and flowers. Mealworm acceptance was observed in captivity, but does not establish a routine insect need; keep animal protein optional and rare.
Breeding
Six agilis-morph females produced one or two live young between mid-February and mid-March locally, equivalent to roughly mid-August to mid-September in this schedule. Research on the same synonymized complex places mating and ovulation in native early spring; females may reproduce annually or biennially and can skip years.
Keeper warning
Cool only healthy, conditioned adults after feeding has stopped and the gut is clear. Record starting mass, perform planned checks, reweigh every 2-4 weeks, and reverse cooling for weight loss, dehydration, respiratory signs or continued activity without normal digestion.