Keeper timer setting
T5 UVB: one hour later on, one hour earlier off
ON: 1 hour after the daylight lights come on.
OFF: 1 hour before the daylight lights go off.
October: daylight 11 h 40 m; T5 UVB 9 h 40 m per day.
The T5 runs for two hours less than the total photoperiod. Example: daylight 08:00-20:00 means UVB 09:00-19:00. Keep the monthly UVI strength as listed beneath the tube. Existing care values are preserved.
UVI beneath the optional T5 tube
Working exposure targetOctober target at normal back height
UVI 3-4directly 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 ยท Muryn, Baines and Dishman (2026), Reptile Lighting Guide V10
October management
Selected automatically using the Netherlands date
Wet season taper
Lowland dry deciduous forest, especially dead hollow branches and tree cavities - Campeche and Quintana Roo, Mexico
27-30 CDay ambient
21-23 CNight
41-43 CBasking
3-4T5 UVI*
11 h 40 mPhotoperiod
9 h 40 mT5 UVB duration
60-70 / 75-85%RH day / night*
Rain/mist 3-4x/wkSpray / rain
4Food offers*
Annual schedule
Scroll sideways on smaller screens
| Month | Day ambient | Night | Basking | T5 UVI* | Photoperiod | T5 UVB duration | RH day / night* | Spray / rain | Food offers* | Status / breeding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26-29 C | 19-21 C | 40-42 C | 3 | 11 h 10 m | 9 h 10 m | 50-60 / 70-80% | Light local spray 1-2x/wk | 3-4 | Courtship / mating |
| February | 27-30 C | 20-22 C | 41-43 C | 3-4 | 11 h 30 m | 9 h 30 m | 50-60 / 70-80% | Light local spray 1-2x/wk | 4 | Gravid females documented |
| March | 28-31 C | 21-23 C | 42-44 C | 3-4 | 12 h | 10 h | 50-60 / 70-80% | Minimal main cage + moist nest | 4 | Gravid / nest preparation |
| April | 29-32 C | 22-24 C | 43-45 C | 4 | 12 h 30 m | 10 h 30 m | 50-60 / 70-80% | Minimal + moist lay zone | 4 | Gravid females documented / likely laying |
| May | 29-32 C | 22-24 C | 43-45 C | 4 | 13 h | 11 h | 50-60 / 70-80% | Light local spray 1-2x/wk | 4 | Late dry season / incubation |
| June | 28-31 C | 22-24 C | 42-45 C | 4 | 13 h 15 m | 11 h 15 m | 60-70 / 75-85% | Extensive spray/rain 4-5x/wk | 4-5 | Wet season / hatching likely |
| July | 28-31 C | 22-24 C | 42-44 C | 4 | 13 h | 11 h | 60-75 / 75-85% | Extensive spray/rain 4-5x/wk | 4-5 | Wet-season activity |
| August | 28-31 C | 22-24 C | 42-44 C | 4 | 12 h 40 m | 10 h 40 m | 60-75 / 75-85% | Extensive spray/rain 4-5x/wk | 4-5 | Wet-season activity |
| September | 27-30 C | 21-24 C | 41-43 C | 3-4 | 12 h 10 m | 10 h 10 m | 60-75 / 75-85% | Extensive spray/rain 4-5x/wk | 4-5 | Wet-season maintenance |
| October | 27-30 C | 21-23 C | 41-43 C | 3-4 | 11 h 40 m | 9 h 40 m | 60-70 / 75-85% | Rain/mist 3-4x/wk | 4 | Wet season taper |
| November | 26-29 C | 20-22 C | 40-42 C | 3 | 11 h 15 m | 9 h 15 m | 50-60 / 70-80% | Light local spray 1-2x/wk | 3-4 | Dry-down / conditioning |
| December | 25-28 C | 19-21 C | 40-42 C | 3 | 11 h | 9 h | 50-60 / 70-80% | Light local spray 1-2x/wk | 3-4 | Dry season / pre-breeding |
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
Cachryx alfredschmidti is endemic to Campeche and Quintana Roo, Mexico. Field studies place it in lowland dry deciduous forest, primarily in dead hollow branches and tree cavities 0.5-6 m above ground. It is more arboreal than C. defensor.
Field climate
The 2016 Campeche study captured animals at a mean air temperature of 33.6 C (27.2-39.7 C) and mean RH of 53% (36.3-85.7%). These exposed values do not mean hollow refuges should be equally hot.
Humidity and rain
Published captive guidance recommends about 50-60% RH by day and 70-80% at night. Simulate a pronounced rainy season with extensive spraying June-October and keep November-May significantly drier.
Diet
Adults receive a varied plant-rich diet of herbs, leaves and fruit plus invertebrate prey. Juveniles are mainly insectivorous during the first weeks, with the plant proportion increasing with age.
Reproduction
Oviparous. A captive-breeding review reports 3-7 eggs per clutch. Wild gravid females were documented on 4 February, 22 February and 5 April. Exact mating and laying dates remain less certain than the gravidity data.
Incubation
Published guidance recommends 28-31 C with high incubator humidity (90-100%) and a moderately moist medium such as perlite, vermiculite or sand-peat. High chamber RH must not mean free-standing water around eggs.
Arboreal warning
Do not house this species like a ground-dwelling Cachryx. Tall vertical space and multiple hollow elevated refuges are essential. Published expert guidance considers 80 x 80 x 120 cm a minimum for one adult.