eep! my lil tiger salamander is sick

I've got a barred tiger salamander and for the last week or so he's been havin some problems. He's been burrowing deep under the dirt in his tank and hiding from me. I know that tiger's will do that but this is unusual for him, he is normally very content to stay in his log-caves or the one burrow he's created on his own. The old burrow allowed him to be out of sight but I could still reach him to make sure he's there or to summon him for his food. But lately he digs deep and I won't have any clue where he went and he won't come up for food. He's refused food 3-4 times now. The last 2 times I've dug him out to try and feed him he's had a problem. The first time there was a spot on his back that had skin peeling away from it. I figured that he was shedding and that was the reason for his grouchyness and hiding. But a little bit ago I pulled him out again and the skin hadn't gone much further, tho there was more of it around the spot he was peeling. But the disturbing part was there was redness and perhaps a lil bit of pus, I'm not sure on the pus tho. Also there was a depression about an 3/4 to an inch long and a little less than a quarter of an inch wide. I cleaned him up and put a little bit of neosporin on him. He refused food after I put him back. I'm really worried about him. What's wrong? Will it go away? Do I need to take him to a vet?
please help

What kind of setup are you keeping him in? Could he have scraped against something? What kind of food are you offering?

I'm feeding him crickets. Normally I can hold a cricket by it's back legs and he'll snatch it right out of my fingers hehe. Now he won't, I've left a few in his isolation tank and they've disappeared so I think he is eating he just won't eat anything from me. there's a pic of his woundand that's his setup

It looks like a scrape to me. Could he have scraped on something while burrowing?

Also, he looks pretty fat. I wouldn't worry about it not eating for a while.

he might've scraped on something but it was odd the way it happened. He started shedding and loosing skin, then he got red and started oozing pus. and yea he is a lil chubby hehe. I'm not too worried about the eating, just his behavior's been really out of whack for a week or so.

Keep it cool and moist.

Hi,

he really looks like he could do some days without any food.
The wound looks like a scratch as Kaysie said, could it be that he was clamped anywhere, for instance under a fallen stone or decoration?.

I also would be careful with crickets running free in his tank - I have seen crickets nibble on salamanders and this not only is stress for them but maybe dangerous too (wounds might get infected).

Daniel

No he couldn't possibly have gotten caught under anything that fell, and it didn't seem like he burrowed under any decorations with sharp edges, so I really have no clue what could have done that to him. And I know about the crickets running loose but he won't hand feed right now he only eats if i leave it for him, but it does seem to disappear. Right now he's in an isolation tank with just some filtered dirt and water. so he can't burrow down anymore and he's not gonna get scratched again or make it any worse. Thank you for your help.

wow! he is a real chunk.

Could this be an abcess ?( I am a terrible speller and the kids have hidden the emergency dictionary). From your discription it sounds possible and the site around it from half way down his head to mid back to me looks slightly 'puffy '( odemitus??? ...I had this with an insect bite that went nasty ). If that is the case it'll need treating pronto.

I doubt it. Abscesses tend to be more 'raised'. I have a picture of a newt with a large abscess in my gallery.

But now that I think more about it, it looks like it could be an infected cricket bite.

It definately looks infected to me. Neosporing works ok but perhaps there is a better topical antibiotic or even an oral. I recall years back grinding erythromycin into paste and squirting it into the mouth of an infected turtle. Keep him comfortable and if it worsens consider a trip to the local herp vet. There are also some folks on here with more exp who may have a better answer.

update

I was pretty worried about him and the way it happened so he got taken to a vet about an hour away, not too expensive. Right now he's on a anti-biotic as I understood it, nitrofuricin I think is what the label reads (not too legible lol). He gets that swabbed on him once a day and a lightly salted warm water dabbed on it once a day. So far so good, he's lookin alot better it's not oozing anything anymore. he's still in his hospital tank. And for paranoid fear his old tank was dumped and thoroughly cleaned. When I dumped it I think I realized what had hurt him. I had just put plain potting soil in there to begin with. I had gone through a handful or two of it and not finding anything harmful just dumped in the rest I needed straight from the bag. But when I dumped it I noticed all the pointy rocks and woodchips that come in potting soil.. So the dirt in his sick tank has been filtered and the dirt in in his new tank has been filtered. lesson learned the hard way I suppose. anyway thanks for the help.