Oh heck no, there's no advantage of a male over a female, other than the males staying a bit smaller generally but BP's never get so big as to become unmanageable. I just suggested a normal male as for a purely pet snake they are the most cost effective through breeders. By all means if you want a female, or might want to breed down the road, then pick a lovely little girl instead. Really just pick the snake that you like best since you'll be the one cleaning up it's poop for the next 20 years or so.

As far as mites and ticks, you should never have to worry about that if you go with a reputable breeder and then don't at some point bring mites home from a pet store or nasty snake show. We've got 21 snakes in the house and I've yet *knock wood* to even see a mite let alone have to deal with an outbreak. They aren't common and certainly not something you should ever expect when you get a nice hatchling from a good breeder.