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 rocky plateau and shrub-steppe - south of Ingeniero Jacobacci, 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 routine 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 routine 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 local spray every 10-14 d | 1-2 | Emergence; mating may begin |
| April | 18-21 C | 7-10 C | 40-42 C | 3-4 | 11.5 h | 9 h 30 m | Light local spray every 10-14 d | 3-4 | Primary mating / ovulation |
| May | 20-23 C | 8-12 C | 41-43 C | 3-4 | 13 h | 11 h | Occasional local spray | 4-5 | Early-mid gestation |
| June | 21-24 C | 10-13 C | 41-43 C | 3-4 | 14 h | 12 h | Occasional local spray | 4-5 | Gestation |
| 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 local spray every 10-14 d | 4-5 | Main birth window |
| September | 18-22 C | 8-12 C | 39-41 C | 2-3 | 12 h | 10 h | Light local spray every 10-14 d | 3-4 | Late births / recovery |
| 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 routine spray | Stop after gut clears | Cooling down |
| December | 8-12 C | 2-5 C | Off | Off | 8 h | Off (0 h) | Water check; no routine 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 spectabilis was described from rocky plateaus south of Ingeniero Jacobacci, Rio Negro. Modern integrative molecular, morphological and breeding work treats spectabilis, agilis and excelsus within P. spurcus; this page retains the familiar keeper-facing spectabilis morph name while stating the accepted treatment.
Climate translation
Species-specific field work places activity from late September to late March in the native Southern Hemisphere. Nearby Maquinchao data show winter frost, roughly 185 mm annual precipitation and a winter precipitation peak. This page shifts the biological cycle six months for northern-hemisphere operation; exposed wild minima are not captive refuge targets.
Heat and UVB
Field-active body temperatures span roughly 17-35.5 C with a reported mean near 29.5 C. Published field modelling for the complex used a 20 C activity threshold and a mean preferred body temperature near 33.7 C, although the underlying preference value was cited as unpublished. Use 39-43 C only as a local basking-surface starting point, with much cooler crevices. UVI 3-4 is an operational starting point, not a species-specific measured requirement.
Diet and structure
The species is primarily herbivorous and selects unvegetated rocky microhabitats with steep slopes and secure crevices. Base the diet on varied fibrous greens, safe browse and flowers; keep animal protein optional and rare. Support rockwork from the enclosure base and provide multiple narrow, stable refuges across the gradient.
Breeding and litter
Species-specific work shows mating and ovulation near the start of the native activity season, gravidity from mid-spring and births in midsummer. Twelve gravid females in the 2014 study produced two offspring each; a later maternal-behaviour experiment included litters of 1-3. Females are annual-biennial and may skip reproductive years.
Maturity and maternal care
Growth is slow: the youngest adult male reported was about six years and the youngest adult female seven years. Maternal antipredator responses have been demonstrated experimentally, but this does not guarantee indefinite captive family compatibility.
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.