Heh, I know about the midwest, when I first met him and found out where he was from I was like WHAT?... you need to move to Florida! so far we get him here a few times a year but not got him to move.
I know you can trust your beardies to him... I love my Vet here, but if Dr Wentz was here, I would have to change or at least split them up. I have never met a vet with so much dedication to this species and he's a bank of knowledge 
If you need someone to talk to that also is really up to date on information, check out the pet store that he co-owns with Connie and talk to her..... she and her husband Keith are real easy people to feel comfortable with and she is very into her dragons there.
Darkness can be a sign of illness or discontent, it can also be too heat not at a comfortable level or a shed coming on. I have a bright gold one that looks like tanished silver for several weeks as she goes through a shed cycle