Hello Everyone. My wild caught woodhouse toad is sick. Princess Petunia Pearl (My sister helped come up with that one) has ruddy colored spots on her belly, just above her forelegs. They're about the size of her eyeballs (Not too big, not too small). There isn't a ton of them, and there isn't any kind of consistent pattern. In fact they sort of resemble a star constellation. They're concentrated in that one area. Over the past couple of days they have darkened from a bright red to a muddy brown. I also noticed a few on her sides but am not sure if they're just warts, as she is brown right now due to the winter temps and her upcoming shed. Also, her hind legs have a tint of red to them. I've lost some amphibians in the past to red-leg, so needless to say I'm really worried.

As to the spots, my theory is that they are bites from mites. I noticed a few tiny red bugs crawling over her lately so I believe they are the cause of this. I'm currently cleaning her cage thoroughly: Rinsing some objects in a bleach solution and others I'll be heating in the oven. I believe the tinge of red is either my overactive imagination or a sign of the stress which the little beasts are causing my dear toad.

I tried an experiment with substrates on several of my enclosures and I believe that repti-bark is pretty awful. It became soggy too quickly and the mites seemed to set in super fast. I've switched to a different substrate now so I hope to avoid the mites, but Anyway, let me know your thoughts on the subject, especially as to the cause of the spots. Princess hasn't been herself lately, she hardly moves at all whereas before she'd keep me up at night with all her antics. Please help.

P.S. I am selling my Male juvenile Pyxie. He is a great frog but I have to let him go as I'm about to leave on an LDS mission and he'll be too much for my family to take care of in addition to my other critters. Please check the wanted/for sale section soon.