I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who is a reptile vet in training- mind you he is not yet a doctor...but here is what he said. There should be no risk to the animal in its immediate environment..but, you also have to take into account for anything "viral" coming into the environment by air. And he did mention that a handler could easily bring something in to the snake that may pose a threat, but that it is a little less likely. I also asked him about the mite question. He said that a human cannot bring mites into the snake because mites do not infest and choose to live on humans cause we cannot provide them with what they need. But it is possible to introduce mites via prey items or another snake. OK Wizill, hope this helped.