C. pyrrhogaster illness sickness?

I've noticed an area of what looks like broken skin on the neck of one of my juvenile C. pyrrhogaster, it's on the parotid gland area on the left side of its neck. It looks like a graze but I can't think how it could have happened as the newts haven't been touched since they morphed apart from yesterday when they were removed from their tank for 10 mins or so while I tidied their tank and removed duckweed. I tried enlarging the photos I took then and it doesn't look like it was there then, i'm sure I would have noticed it as they are hand fed daily. The newt is behaving and eating normally although it has always been the shyest and slowest growing of the whole group. Any advice or help is very welcome as i'm quite worried, especially if its a disease as I have no idea where it could have come from?

:S Unfortunately that´s a sore...and treating it is not going to be easy nor have particularly good chances of ending well. I know it´s crude, but you should know what you are up against.
First off, separate the animal right away. People have had success with salt baths but also with Neosporin (without painkillers, the one for ******l use) applied directly to the sore. I would try the Neosporin if you can get it. Moving the animal to a somewhat drier environment like moist paper towels might be a good idea as well as keeping the animal cool, preferably below 15ºC.

It´s fairly unusual for CB animals to develop these kinds of sores. Considering that your conditions appear to be excellent i would hazard that perhaps this animal simply has a compromised inmune system, possibly as a congenital condition (the reason for this guess is that these sores are very common among WC animals and the hypothesis is that this is as a result of inmunological depression brought on by severe stress). After all out of the many hundreds of eggs that a female can lay it is to be expected that a percentage of them won´t develop into fit offspring.

Nevertheless, good luck, i hope this ends happily Chinadog!

Thanks for the speedy reply Azhael, I isolated it straight away but in a semi aquatic set up with plants and water from the main juvenile tank to try and minimise stress, I will alter it in the morning. The animal has always struggled to put on weight so I hope you are right about the compromised immune system, i'd much rather that than have the rest of the group come down with the same thing. I will try to get hold of the meds you suggest tomorrow and see how it goes. I do know a very good exotic animal vet that I have taken my tortoises to in the past when I they needed treatment but it's a 150 mile trip and i'm not sure they would be able to do much for such a small animal?

I've tried to get the triple antibiotic ointment but was told its prescription only by one chemist and the other made phone calls to suppliers trying to track some down but no luck there as they couldn't even order it, so salt baths it is.
Anyway the sore doesn't look any bigger today and he doesn't mind the salt baths at all so i'll see what happens. At least he's still eating well and looking otherwise healthy so i'll just keep up the salt baths and hope for the best...

Managed to order some Neosporin today so I will use it along side the salt baths and hope for the best.

I know it´s difficult given the circumstances with all the unavoidable handling and stress, but try to maintain it to the bare minimum by offering as much of a stress free environment as you can, just to avoid further compromising its inmune system. You know, just in case...every little helps.

He's in the quietest room in the house so I only have to disturb him twice a day for the salt baths and once at feeding time. I know these kinds of bacterial sores are very hit and miss to treat but I'll give it my best shot and see how it goes. I'ts difficult to be optimistic about his chances but you never know.

Well, it's been a week or so since I started using the Neosporin and blind optimism and it does look like the sore is improving. It looks almost like smooth scar tissue now with no sign of wetness or blood. He's still eating well and growing so maybe there is a chance of beating the infection. I don't know if we're out of the woods yet but it seems to be going in the right direction. I do hope he makes it!

It does look like the tissue is closed and on the way to regeneration. I´d say you are allowed a little happy dance

Already done one!
Thanks for suggesting the Neosporin, I think it's worked on this occasion.

Against all odds it looks like he's on the way to a full recovery, the sore has healed and new skin has completely covered the hole. I'm going to stop with the Neosporin now and move him to a semi aquatic set up, if all goes well he'll be joining his siblings soon.
I think he was very lucky to survive the disease, it's cost him his parotid gland on that side but maybe it will grow back over time? Either that or he'll only be half as poisonous as his brothers and sisters!

I thought I'd update this thread with a picture of him now he's mature because interestingly his damaged parotid gland never did regenerate. I was under the impression that any damaged body part would re-grow, especially on such a young animal, but it just closed up and left a scar.
It's not the best picture in the world as he's still quite shy but it shows what I mean.