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I have been a keeper for over 20 years now and have never had an issue with mites. I am very anal about checking on my animals well being multiple times a day. I was checking on them yesterday and noticed what I think is mites on my young Rufous Beaked Snake(farmed in Africa)! The last snake I brought into my collection was not him and was well over a year ago,and looks clean as a whistle! I immediately removed the enclosure from my snake room and am undergoing mite treatment with Natural Chemistry's reptile spray for mites. I bathed him for like an hour first and could see the lil mites crawling on the sides of the tupperware I used and drowning. All my other animals have no signs what so ever of mites!? Where could they have come from? Could they be a non invasive type of mite, not one that feeds off the snake? What are the chances I have stopped a spread to more of my collection? I am freaked out!!
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1.0 Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
1.0 Black Tailed Cribo
1.0 Andean Milksnake
1.0 Desert Horned Viper
1.0 Red Spitting Cobra
0.1 75%Diamond Python/25% Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Taiwan Beauty Snake
1.0 Ball Python (over 20 years old)
1.0 Rufous Beaked Snake
Brazilian White-Knee Tarantula
Green Bottle Blue Tarantula

All I can say is that sometimes it takes that long (a year) to notice mites on a snake. Clearly, had your rufous been infested, you would have noticed it. But what if it only had one or two mites, or just a few eggs? In a cage that is regularly cleaned it might take that long before the mites have increased to numbers that are detectable.

I cannot say if you have avoided mites to the rest of your collection (which looks like a very nice one going by your signature). All you can do is monitor closely, and perhaps treat all snakes.

Ian

As Ian said, mites can take a long time before you have an outbreak. Mites can be brought in by you going to a reptile show, petshop, or just from the outside world. Lots of loose substrates also harbor mites and need treated prior to use. See my post further down on this forum concerning mite treatment. Bill
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

This link has one of the best descriptions of mites and their requirements and appearances throughout their various life-cycles. You sound lucky enough to perhaps not be too familiar with how snake mites may appear!
http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_life_history_of_snake_mites

There are other harmless commensal organisms that can invade snake enclosures like springtails but your Rufous beaked housing is likely not humid enough to encourage and support those.
I have seen people go needlessly into full panic anti-mite mode over springtails as well.
The feeding stage of snake mites are darkish and round and usually produce a satisfying crunch feeling when crushed between your fingernails.
Keeping hots does complicate the treatment process. Good luck with your eradication.
Life cycle of snake mites

Thanx everyone for your responses. Today I did a little exam of the rest of my collection and only found one other enclosure that had what I thought were the mites. I see nothing on any of the other snakes. They definitely are not black, but a tan/light brown maybe, its hard to tell, they are so small. They are really tiny and do not 'crunch at all'. The only two enclosures that contained any had aspen substrate and the water bowls in each would leak a lil and the aspen would get wet around the bowls. Those are the areas I seen the other 'mites'. I could barely even see them on the white melamine. Any ideas? Springtails? Wood lice? I live in WI.
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1.0 Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
1.0 Black Tailed Cribo
1.0 Andean Milksnake
1.0 Desert Horned Viper
1.0 Red Spitting Cobra
0.1 75%Diamond Python/25% Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Taiwan Beauty Snake
1.0 Ball Python (over 20 years old)
1.0 Rufous Beaked Snake
Brazilian White-Knee Tarantula
Green Bottle Blue Tarantula

If you happen to live near a natural history museum or a university you should be able to find a willing and bored entomologist who would be happy to pop an example under a microscope for a confirmed I.D. of what you are dealing with. Just trap a few examples of the bugs in between some pieces of clear tape. A vet is of course another option if you have one that you feel is experienced enough to give you a correct I.D.

Right on, I go herping in Wisconsin every year or two. T.B.'s suggestions for positive identification are good. Your continued descriptions have me thinking it's a wood mite of some sort and harmless.

Ian

Thanx Joey (hope that's your name). Since my original posting I have thoroughly cleaned 3 of my closest cages to the original problem and find nothing of any significance. My Beaked snake is still in quarantine and under treatment. I examined my Diamond the other night, who is over 7 feet long, and bathed her in a tub for like two hours with nothing to be found. The mites i found were only around the wet water bowl along with a small amount of springtails. None were found anywhere else in any of the cages. I too think it is a false call. Whew!! Thought I had a real issue there......stress city..........thanx everyone....Todd
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1.0 Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
1.0 Black Tailed Cribo
1.0 Andean Milksnake
1.0 Desert Horned Viper
1.0 Red Spitting Cobra
0.1 75%Diamond Python/25% Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Taiwan Beauty Snake
1.0 Ball Python (over 20 years old)
1.0 Rufous Beaked Snake
Brazilian White-Knee Tarantula
Green Bottle Blue Tarantula