Well, RI is caused by either a bacteria, virus or parasite, not by temperature. The pathogen has to be present for the snake to develop a respiratory infection. The reality is that there is always some number of one or another pathogens present. A snake's immune system function is largely dependent on temperature. The warmer the temperature is (within a certain range), the better his immune system functions. When the temperature drops below the acceptable range for that a particular species, the immune system does not function as well as it should and whatever pathogen (virus or bacteria) is present can bloom to a point that it causes infection because the immune system is no longer maintaining a balance.



Snakes all have a range of temperatures that they can tolerate, dependent of the species. Other things that cause immune system compromise are being in a weakened condition from fighting some other disease, dehydration or starvation, and stress.



When you introduce a new snake to the picture it may be carrying some pathogen that the other snakes have not been previously exposed to (or vice versa) and they will have no antibodies for that pathogen. If they are exposed to the pathogen in great enough numbers it can get a foothold before their immune system can manufacture antibodies and cause an infection even if their immune systems are working properly. That is the value of quarantine.



In the case of parasites such as Lungworms, they can build up numbers that compromise lung function even if the immune system is working properly. This is especially true of those parasites that have direct life cycle, meaning that they don't need an intermediate host to reproduce and complete the cycle to re-infect the primary host. This is the value of keeping your cages scrupulously clean and never allowing fecal matter to remain in the cage.



So, the answer to your question is that it can be caused either way. How long it takes for the infection to develop depends on the incubation period of the pathogen and the ability of the individual snake's immune system to fight it off once conditions are returned to normal.

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