Back in 2007 I wrote on a thread on here......
"There's a pretty extensive ban on the importation of three species of African tortoises. These species were found to carry ticks that harbor Heartwater disease after their importation. Heartwater disease effects ruminants, anything from livestock cattle to white-tail deer.
It has been recommended that both captive-hatched and wild-caught specimens be certified free of external parasites such as ticks. Some go as far as suggesting that the US spray all exotics with a safe pesticide. They argue that's it better to be proactive rather than reactive as in the case of Heartwater disease."
Then there's this paper from 2000......http://www.jstor.org/pss/3284951
"Exotic ticks were identified on 29 (91%) of 32 reptile premises in 18 counties of Florida. The ticks, found on a variety of imported tortoises, snakes, and monitor lizards, belonged to 4 Amblyomma species (A. marmoreum, Amblyomma nuttalli, Amblyomma sabanerae,and Amblyomma sparsum) and 4 Aponomma species (Aponomma exornatum, Aponomma flavomaculatum, Aponomma latum, and Aponomma varanensis). The most commonly encountered ticks were A. latum and A. marmoreum. The identifications of A.marmoreum on 8 premises in 7 counties, and of A. sparsum on 1 premises, are of great concern because both species are vectors of heartwater, a lethal disease of cattle, sheep, goats, and deer."
Some of the snakes they found these ticks on were ball pythons, African Rock pythons, and reticulated pythons.
My question to anyone who knows better than me:
Have the importers changed their practices since this time to decrease the chances that exotic, disease carrying ticks could be on imported snakes?
A would think a legislator or two could ask this at some point.
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