You said..."Veiled Chameleon, Female, approximately 4-6 months (told by seller, tiki tiki). Has been in my care since the 9th of this month"..do you have a place for her to dig to lay eggs if she needs to? If a female is old enough to produce eggs and has no place to lay them, she could become eggbound. Signs of impending eggbinding include but are not exclusive to...sitting low in the cage, eyes shut, lethargic, not eating, etc.
You said you feed her crickets w/ calcium +D3 powder twice a day...the D3 should only be used a couple of times a month. D3 from supplements builds up in the chameleon's system and causes health issues. As long as they can move in and out of the UVB light (which BTW should have no glass or plastic between it and the chameleon) the D3 produced from exposure to the UVB should not build up.
Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phos., its important to dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.
I have no idea what Rainbow cricket feed is...but I use a wide variety of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, zucchini, etc.).
I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A since it won't build up in the system. This leaves the owner in control of when the chameleon gets any prEformed vitamin A as needed. PrEformed vitamin A will build up in the system and lead to health issues. Excess prEformed vitamin A may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD.
You said..."I have a 75 watt Red heat lamp. I turn the UVB light off after 8-10 hours of being on and I keep the heat light on all the time"...unless the temperature drops below the mid 60's at night, there is no need for heat at night...and there is no need for light at night at any time.
You said..."the basking is at about 95, the bottom is about 80-85 and it stays the same at night"...you've already been told that 95C is too warm.
Do you use a substrate?
Here is some information that might help too...
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.
Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.
Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).
If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).
Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite.)
Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Here are some good sites for you and your parents to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
