Alter-Echo, I suspect the reason mites are so common in BPs is two-fold:
-They seem more common because so many people are keeping BPs and talking about their pets. And pet stores always sell them. So that makes sense...
-BPs are often bred & kept in racks, where mites can easily infect them all. That is but one reason I'm not a fan of racks. I know they are "practical", but
really bad things can spread quickly when reptiles are in close contact. The only times I've ever dealt with mites was many years ago, 2 different new snakes,
one bought locally and one (a BP) that was shipped to me; each time, mites never spread to any of my other snakes (and I've had a houseful for many years!),
largely because my snakes are housed in glass tanks that are not close together. Even a professional zoo-keeper from the reptile house @ L.A. Zoo commented
favorably on that fact during his visit. It really matters. And when you take a look at pet stores, again, reptiles can all share their parasites & pathogens easily.
(The other reason I don't like racks is that to me it feels like 'ware-housing' & you lose touch with what's going on...you can't fix what you don't notice. And to me, snakes are pets that I love seeing.)
I feel for the misery that so many of you go thru treating for mites, not to mention what the snakes themselves have to put up with. For me, mites really have
been "rare", even though I had quite a few snakes coming & going.
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