Tiger Salamander HELP

[CosmosNickel]

Hey Everyone.

My boyfriend and I acquired a Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) about five months ago. His name is Salami and he was a happy squish up until recently.
We both noticed a sore on his back about a month ago. It was small and didn't seem extremely irritated so we left it alone for a few days.
One morning after slamming down a few super worms we checked his back again. It was so much worse than it was just the day before. We immediately started researching what this could be and could come to no clear answers. We treated it with Equate Anti Bacterial ointment immediately and saw that it helped it shrink a little.
We continuously used the anti bacterial ointment because it seemed to have been working, but when we checked on him today the hole was much bigger and is at its worst.
We have been housing him in a giant tub with great ventilation since we first got him. (5 months ago.) We keep his substrate moist, but never damp so that he can burrow. We only use purified water in his swimming dish. We redid his entire enclosure as soon as we noticed the hole. He is also a great eater and has never turned down a meal...
If you have any information as to what this could be, please let me know.
Also, let me emphasize again that it got extremely worse very quickly. The hole was noticeably larger in about 8 hours.

 

[schmiggle]

See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/illness.shtml
And:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/sores.shtml
I hope this gets better

 

[basin79]

Looks like some sort of ulcer. Like if I suddenly had a large open sore on my back I'd go to the docs. I'd take him to a vet.

 

[CosmosNickel]

Looks like some sort of ulcer. Like if I suddenly had a large open sore on my back I'd go to the docs. I'd take him to a vet.

I've already scheduled an appointment for him. Just wanted to see if anyone on here knew anything else about it

 

[basin79]

I've already scheduled an appointment for him. Just wanted to see if anyone on here knew anything else about it

Good do. Really hope it gets sorted out. Looks bloody painful. It'll heal quickly though when you do find out what's causing it.

 

[Ranitomeya]

That definitely looks like it needs the antibiotic, but keep in mind that if you continue to treat it without eradicating the infection, you'll only create a strain of bacteria resistant to the current antibiotic. You'll want to move it into a quarantine enclosure with paper towel bedding that can be changed frequently. The substrate you have it on will only get into the wound and make healing more difficult by irritating the wound and re-introducing infection.

In a terrarium or vivarium meant to be damp and humid, you want to use a more coarse or fluffed up substrate that drains well. When fine substrates become waterlogged or damp, anaerobic pockets of organic matter can promote the growth of harmful bacteria that are dangerous for organisms with delicate skin like amphibians. If you are using coconut fiber regularly, you may want to consider using something that is less likely to cover and irritate its skin and increase the chances of infection.

 

[viper69]

So is there an update on this, it's been a month.

 

[Esherman81]

Update please ..I have a few tiger salamander for many years bad never seen anything like this before .