You said..."aquarium (I still struggling with the issue of glass vs. screen I am going to post in the setup forum for input"...I live in Ontario and I have kept chameleons for years. When I first started out I mostly kept them in aquariums or wooden cages with glass fronts. Most of them had screened lids.
I then switched to glass cages with screened lids and doors....but those have proved to be difficult to keep heated and humid enough in the winter due to the dry cold climate here. I had very little problem with the glass tanks. You just need to make sure that you place the basking light to one side on the lid and to not let water stand on the floor of the cage.
You said you use a Reptisun UVB...5.0 or 10.0? Tube or compact? Some of the compacts and tube lights have caused eye problems.
You said..."Temperature - 75 - 70 degrees during the day. I am setting up a basking area of 80-90 at night room temp which is 65 degrees"...that's better now that you have a warmer basking area.
You said..."Humidity - I don't have a way to measure humidity yet, I was told it wasn't necessary for a veiled. Bad advice? I mist 3 times daily on one side of the cage"...veileds are fairly tolerant of poor humidity...but they need extra/better watering/hydration to compensate IMHO.
You said..."Plants - No live plants, once again I was told not. I know better know and I am picking up some Crotons and phildendrons(sp) tomorrow"...I don't know if either of those are safe....I've never used either. I mostly use pothos. Don't forget that veileds eat vegetation once they are about 5 months of age...greens, veggies and a bit of fruit too.
Since your veiled is female...please be aware that once she is about 5 months old she could lay eggs even though not mated...so you should provide a suitable place for her to dig in the cage so you don't miss the sometimes subtle indications that she needs to lay eggs. You may also want to control her diet once she is sexually mature to keep the clutches small and have her live longer.
You said..." Feeding - small crickets twice daily as much as she will eat at once"...good for now. You will want to give her a wider variety though.
Re: supplements...most feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous...so dusting the insects before feeding them to her with a phos.-free calcium powder helps to compensate for it.
I dust with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A twice a month. Beta carotene won't build up in the system like preformed vitamin A will. However there is controversy about whether all chameleons can convert beta carotene to vitamin A or not and some people give them a little preformed once in a while. Excess preformed vitamin A will prevent the D3 from doing its job though and can lead to MBD.
D3 is produced when a chameleon is exposed to UVB light either from UVB lights or exposure to the sun. (The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic.) If your chameleon only gets UVB from exposure to lights, then you may want to dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to make sure it has enough. D3 from supplements can build up in the system, so don't overdo it.
Crickets should be gutloaded before being fed to the chameleon too. You can use greens (dandelion, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, sweet potato, white potato, sweet red pepper, squash, etc.) to do this.
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A all play important parts in bone health and need to be in balance. When trying to attain this balance, look at what you use for supplements, gutloading and feeding to the insects.
Re: watering...you can also use a dripper once she is about 4 months old.
You said..."She is no longer green but yellow. This has not been her normal color"...they do have the ability to change color...can't really tell you if its a problem or not...a picture might help.
Hope all goes well for her!
