Species keeper protocol

Egernia epsisolus

Eastern Pilbara spiny-tailed skink
A small live-bearing, crevice-dwelling skink requiring secure rock fissures, a measured hot-to-cool gradient, a dry ventilated enclosure and cautious seasonal cycling.

Day ambient24-26 CWarm-side air target; preserve a cooler retreat

Night17-19 CCooling applies only to healthy prepared adults

Basking surface35-37 CUse a broad measured surface beside several crevices

UV at baskingUVI 2Provide deep shade and refuges below UVI 1

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 12 h; T5 UVB 10 h.

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 target

October target at normal back height

UVI 2directly under the tube when it is on

The available legacy one-page PDF has an older UVI and thermal calendar than the current webpage. Rebuild the PDF using the current webpage schedule and notes, retaining all current web targets: UVI 1-3 across the year with a 2-3 active-season patch. This is a file-consistency correction, not a new increase in the existing webpage recommendation.

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: Version consistency correction. 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 transition

Rocky ranges, banded-ironstone and granite outcrops - eastern Pilbara, Western Australia

24-26 CDay ambient

17-19 CNight

35-37 CBasking

2T5 UVI*

12 hPhotoperiod

10 hT5 UVB duration

1-2 light local sprays/month; water alwaysSpray / water

2-3 feeds weeklyFeeding

Spray / water: rates are provisional captive working targets for Egernia epsisolus, not experimentally established requirements. Fresh drinking water is available all year. Spray locally, preserve dry refuges and let wetted surfaces dry.

Annual schedule

Scroll sideways on smaller screens

Month	Day ambient	Night	Basking	T5 UVI*	Photoperiod	T5 UVB duration	Spray / water	Feeding	Seasonal management
January	18-20 C	12-14 C	29-32 C	1	10 h	8 h	1 light local spray/month; water always	None or 1 small feed	Cool rest - healthy adults only
February	20-22 C	13-15 C	31-34 C	1-2	10 h 30 m	8 h 30 m	0-1 light local spray/month; water always	1-2 small feeds	Staged spring increase
March	23-25 C	15-17 C	34-36 C	2	11 h 30 m	9 h 30 m	No scheduled spraying; water always	2-3 feeds weekly	Emergence / conditioning
April	25-27 C	17-19 C	36-38 C	2-3	12 h 30 m	10 h 30 m	0-1 light local spray/month; water always	3 feeds weekly	Conditioning / courtship watch
May	27-29 C	19-21 C	38-40 C	2-3	13 h 15 m	11 h 15 m	1 light local spray/month; water always	3-4 feeds weekly	Primary courtship window
June	28-30 C	20-22 C	39-41 C	2-3	14 h	12 h	2-3 light local sprays/month; water always	3-4 feeds weekly	Mating / gestation watch
July	29-31 C	21-23 C	40-42 C	3	14 h	12 h	4-6 light local sprays/month; water always	4 feeds weekly	Peak activity / gestation
August	29-31 C	21-23 C	40-42 C	3	13 h 30 m	11 h 30 m	4-6 light local sprays/month; water always	4 feeds weekly	Late gestation / births possible
September	27-29 C	19-21 C	38-40 C	2-3	13 h	11 h	2-4 light local sprays/month; water always	3 feeds weekly	Births possible / recovery
October	24-26 C	17-19 C	35-37 C	2	12 h	10 h	1-2 light local sprays/month; water always	2-3 feeds weekly	Autumn transition
November	21-23 C	14-16 C	32-34 C	1-2	11 h	9 h	1-2 light local sprays/month; water always	1-2 feeds weekly	Taper heat and feeding
December	18-20 C	12-14 C	29-32 C	1	10 h	8 h	1-2 light local sprays/month; water always	None or 1 small feed	Cool rest - monitor body mass

Additional original settings

Preserved humidity and lamp-duration values. Use the main table’s T5 UVB duration for UVB timing.

January: Heat / UV: 3 h
February: Heat / UV: 4 h
March: Heat / UV: 6 h
April: Heat / UV: 8 h
May: Heat / UV: 9 h
June: Heat / UV: 10 h
July: Heat / UV: 10 h
August: Heat / UV: 9-10 h
September: Heat / UV: 9 h
October: Heat / UV: 7 h
November: Heat / UV: 5 h
December: Heat / UV: 3 h

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

Rockwork and enclosure

Use about 120 x 60 x 60 cm as a working minimum for an established pair, with 150 x 75 x 60 cm or larger preferred. Anchor slate and rock structures from the enclosure floor and provide several tight crevices across the full thermal gradient.

Basking and UVB

During full activity provide a broad 38-42 C basking surface, warm-side air around 28-31 C and a cooler retreat around 23-26 C. Target UVI 2-3 at the basking position with complete shade inside refuges.

Diet

Use varied gut-loaded invertebrates as the active-season base. Offer safe leafy greens and flowers once or twice weekly, keep fruit rare, and do not rely on mealworms or other fatty larvae as staples.

Winter management

Reduce heat, light and feeding gradually. Use a conservative 12-14 C night minimum with a short daily basking opportunity rather than assuming a deep-brumation requirement. Feed small meals only while animals bask and digest normally.

Breeding and neonates

This is a live-bearing lineage, but direct species-level timing and litter data are limited. Treat April-June courtship and July-September births as a working hypothesis, and record actual mating, gestation and birth dates.

Keeper warning

Social housing may be appropriate but is not obligatory. Compatibility must be demonstrated through repeated observation. Separate for persistent chasing, crevice or basking exclusion, bites, food suppression or declining body mass.

Drinking water

Provide a stable shallow dish of clean drinking water throughout the year, including cool maintenance and the drier spray phase. Wash and refill daily and whenever soiled. No scheduled spraying does not mean withholding drinking water.

Light local spraying and rock refuges

Wet a limited accessible cool-side rock or crevice entrance to create droplets; never flood an occupied rock refuge or saturate the whole enclosure. Retain dry retreats and strong ventilation, and let wetted surfaces dry before another application. A sheltered slightly damp option may be offered when needed during shedding; monitor actual drinking and shedding rather than maintaining persistently wet bedding.

Seasonal evidence and limits

The species description records Egernia epsisolus mainly on exfoliating granite outcrops with Triodia in the Chichester subregion. Marble Bar Comparison and Wittenoom are regional climate proxies illustrating eastern Pilbara summer/early-autumn rain pulses and a much drier spring; they are not the animals’ known collection sites or measurements of refuge humidity. The six-month Netherlands shift places the stronger moisture pulse in June-September, especially July-August. The listed spray rates are provisional captive starting targets, not experimentally established species-specific requirements or mandatory conversions of rainfall to misting. Adjust to provenance, drying rate and animal response.

Cool maintenance

The existing December-February schedule provides limited basking rather than prescribing deep brumation. Preserve those settings and use the lighter spray targets with good drying. If animals enter a separately managed full-dormancy protocol, switch UVB OFF during dormancy and replace routine spraying with careful refuge-moisture checks; avoid cold saturated refuges.

Eastern Pilbara moisture evidence

The 2011 species description identifies granite-outcrop habitat in the Chichester subregion. Marble Bar Comparison and Wittenoom provide long-term regional climate context, not the full range of population climates or humidity inside occupied rock crevices. Both series are historical closed stations. Australian months are shifted six months to fit the existing Netherlands keeper schedule; captive spray targets remain provisional.

Monthly regional rainfall evidence

January in captivity ↔ July in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 12.6 mm; Wittenoom 13.7 mm.
February in captivity ↔ August in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 6.4 mm; Wittenoom 7.7 mm.
March in captivity ↔ September in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 0.9 mm; Wittenoom 2.9 mm.
April in captivity ↔ October in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 3.8 mm; Wittenoom 3.9 mm.
May in captivity ↔ November in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 9.1 mm; Wittenoom 9.5 mm.
June in captivity ↔ December in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 39.6 mm; Wittenoom 48.4 mm.
July in captivity ↔ January in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 76.3 mm; Wittenoom 115.9 mm.
August in captivity ↔ February in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 87.8 mm; Wittenoom 103.1 mm.
September in captivity ↔ March in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 56.7 mm; Wittenoom 68.9 mm.
October in captivity ↔ April in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 21.9 mm; Wittenoom 27.3 mm.
November in captivity ↔ May in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 23 mm; Wittenoom 26.7 mm.
December in captivity ↔ June in Australia: Mean rainfall: Marble Bar Comparison 23 mm; Wittenoom 29.3 mm.

Doughty, Kealley and Donnellan (2011): species description, Egernia epsisolus habitat and range
Bureau of Meteorology: Marble Bar Comparison climate
Bureau of Meteorology: Wittenoom climate