Respiratory Infection?

I think Norbert may be developing a respiratory infection, and am wondering about details wrt the best course of action. Yesterday when she had been eating and was breathing hard, I could hear her breathing a little bit, which worried me, though it sounded clear and not mucousy. Today, in the same state, I could hear it again, but it was starting to sound more like a person with allergies - slightly stuffy. When she is at rest, I don't hear it. Her appetite, activity levels, and coloration are all normal.

Setup/husbandry stuff: She is in a 40 gallon tank with tiles that I wash promptly when she poops on them. Basking spot ~100 degrees and cool end 80-85 during the day. Ceramic heat emitter keeps nighttime temps in the high 60s to low 70s. Reptisun 10.0 is about four months old. No water bowl or anything else that might cause humidity. She eats dubias, occasional various crawlies (phoenix worms, silk worms etc.), and mustard greens and other salad stuff. She is terrible about eating her salad, so I sometimes give her watery vegetable baby food so she will have any plants in her body (and also stay hydrated, because she won't drink standing water). She gets a multivitamin with calcium in baby food once a week. She gets occasional baths if she's constipated or steps in a poop, and I dry her thoroughly and put her right back in the tank after.

Health: She is two and a half years old. As a baby, she had health problems (parasites and eating issues), but has been healthy as an adult. She has never had an RI. Her vet sees all kinds of exotics and specializes in ferrets, but does see a lot of reptiles and is an ARAV member. I wish I had a more reptile-specific vet, but have not been able to find one in the area (Portland, OR - let me know if you have any leads!) despite trying.

Questions: Does this sound like the beginning of an RI to people? If so, how fast do they progress/how much danger is she in? I think I can get her to the vet a week from tomorrow if need be, but should I try to get my hands on an antibiotic before then? And I don't 100% trust the vet (to make diagnoses that aren't obvious), though he's better than nothing.

It's not abnormal for beardies to start breathing hard during eating, and for beardies to have erratic/labored breathing when shedding on their face (the lining of their nostrils shed, which sometimes minorly blocks their nasal tubes).

Other RI symptoms include excessive saliva production and excessive gaping.

You can go to the vet if you're worried about it, wouldn't hurt to set your mind at ease about whether or not it is an RI. But I wouldn't start worrying unless it's persisting for a while. Your husbandry doesn't seem like it would harbor a lot of bacteria or humidity. What kind of substrate do you use?

Okay, thank you. She is not shedding right now, but I haven't seen any mucous or excessive gaping either. Maybe I'll make an appointment just in case and cancel it if nothing gets worse. Her substrate is slate tiles, which I wash (and dry) when she poops on them.

I agree that it sounds OK. Sometimes they will act like that. It's possible a face shed is starting up and her nose is a bit plugged up because of it too. Sometimes a shed cycle can take several weeks. Without lethargic behavior and excess/thick mucous around the nose and mouth I don't think it's an infection.