They most certainly can hitch a ride on rodents. A guy that buys rodents from me on a regular basis needed larges one week and i didnt have enough for him ready so he went up to a local pet store. And he got mites from the rodents he bought. I know he did cause i was at his house the night after to sex a few of his snakes and there were still mites on a couple rats he hadnt fed yet. Luckilly it was caught quick and infestation was everted but they can come home from rodents if there are mites where the rodents came from