Hi Cheryl
I wouldn't put the soil back in so soon. I REALLY think you have a mite infestation and unfortunately it's not going to go away with one thorough cleaning!
You should, however, give your snake some type of hide box which can be discarded every day or every other day: depending on the size of your snake, anything from a cardboard cereal box to a shoe box would be fine. In the meantime, I wouldn't have much else in the cage except paper towel as a substrate and a waterbowl. Everything else should be taken out and treated or thrown away and replaced... but don't put anything back until you've gotten rid of the mites! An adult can live 32 days without a blood meal, so you shouldn't relax too soon. It just takes one pregnant female hiding in your carpet or somewhere else to re-infest your snake again!
You can take a piece of moist paper towel (gauze would be better if you have it) and wipe it along the snake, then look for mites. Also wipe the top corners of the lid and sides of the terrarium and check for beige, white or black dots... those would be the eggs, larvae or the protonymph or deutonymph stages, and the black ones or dark red would be the adults.

It's not easy to get rid of these beasties, but you must take the problem VERY seriously. Mites are VERY dangerous to your snake! They can pass bacteria and viruses to your snake or cause severe, life-threatening anemia in a large infestation.
There are a lot of mite treatments available: popular ones include Reptile Relief and Provent-A-Mite. Be aware, however, that there is no treatment that is both 100% effective against mites and 100% safe for your snake. Always read the directions carefully and follow them to the letter!
In the link I put in my first post, I clearly outlined how I've successfully and safely gotten rid of mites in my collection of 4 snakes. (It may not be practical for someone with 20+ snakes, but it is safe and it works.)
Check out this link for more info on mites: http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html

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Andrea

Hmm that is unusual Andrea, but definitely something to bear in mind.. we always spotted the black mites first, in heavy and not so heavy infestations.

Cap, i guess the thing is to treat these things like mites - even if they're not mites then it can't do any harm to be over-cautious. Leave the soil out, your snake doesn't need the soil for hiding, just make sure you put in plenty of other hiding spots, which can be easily cleaned or discarded - things like plant pots or plant pot bases, tupperware boxes or even old cereal boxes make good hides, and hides are imperative to your snake's health, it needs to feel secure.

What kind of snake is this and where did you get it from, and when??

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Hi and thanks for the advise. I only had him for around three months. He is a northern brown and I took him from a bunch of kids in the neighborhood. They were abusing him. I never had a snake before nor did I know anything about them. This site is a blessing. I did take him to the vet for a checkup and because he would'nt eat for a least a month. He won't eat now but I guess because he is really stressed out. I'm afraid to clean him or the tank again because I don't want to kill him. I'm going to clean it on sunday and just prey that he doesn't have a heart attack or stress attack.
Again thank you and I will take your advise on the dirt and hiding boxes. Thanks alot.
Also can crickets get mites? I have pet crickets in another tank that is on another dresser but there is only a small gap between the two dressers.

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5 Dogs
Candice a collie, Budweiser a black lab, Shotzie a rottweiler, Rocky a german shepherd, & Gizmo a chihuahua.
4 Tabby cats
Magic, Phoebe, Tinkerbell, & Skitzie. Pookie & Boo black & white cats.
Spike a cockatiel. Heaven a leopard gecko. Link & Lucy fire bellied toads. Luke and Laura fire bellied newts.
Disturbed a albino african clawed frog. Snowy a silver molly. Fire a blood fin tetra. Jaws a black molly. Another fish tank with fish and snails galore.