Low humidity might be a factor in RI but I have never read that it was. Low temps for sure and high humidly with poor air flow for sure. RI is a bacterial infection, bacteria grow really will in warm humid environments. Stagnant air increases the speed of growth and in extreme cases can add stress to the animal, which depresses the immune system.
Think about how often people get sick after flying, lower oxygen, cool temps and exposure to bacteria, add stress and you get sick on your vacation.
I generally think very little thought is given to air flow it is as important as humidity. I live it a very dry house (8% today) so humidity is a big issue and I have to adjust it constantly. Mine are often at the lower end of the acceptable range at 45-55% I get good sheds most of the time sometimes I get the dread 2 piece and 3 piece ones but usually they are complete. I have never had a stuck eye cap (ignoring rescues that arrive with them) or a tail tip. The other thing that I am likely becoming known for is accurate instruments. humidity probes are all over the place I'd recommend calibrate able ones as the test is easy and works. Then the devise can be corrected WHEN it is wrong, they all are I think after testing them I have a digital that is out almost 30%. SALT TEST
salt test: in a plastic bag take a small amount of water and add salt until there is more salt than water and crystals (saturated solution) place hygrometers in bag and seal. Move the bag to an area that is 30ēC wait for 5 hours and check the reading it will be inside the bag 75.09% (the error is 0.11%)
here is a chart for different temperatures But from 0ēC-85ēC there is less than 1% difference so temps aren't super critical (75.51-76.29%)
http://www.omega.com/temperature/z/pdf/z103.pdf
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