Dying or dead Pacman?

[Pac422]

Hi everyone,
This seems like a dumb question, but I am having a hard time determining if my "Pacman" is in estivation again or he died in the last 24 hours. Every year since I've had him in Oct Nov he goes down for 4-5 months. I know they say temperature changes can trigger this, but nevertheless nothing changes indoors and he does it anyway. I have always lived in Florida. He has currently been under going on month 4. During his down time his light still runs on a 12 hour on 12 hour off cycle and his water is changed every two to three days and his cage is misted lightly. Temp usually stays at 80 degrees during the day. Usually changing the water or misting causes his side to "pulse". Really this is the only clue to me that he is alive. However, today he did not "pulse" and his one side is wrinkled and not as bloated as yesterday. His ecoearth has not been changed since right before he "laid down for a nap" since i read they shouldn't be disturbed during this time.

Every year I think he's dead and then he comes out of it, so I am questioning if I should let him be or increase the humidity and see if he comes out of it. I have had him for almost 11 years.

So, is there a way to tell if he is alive or dead without stressing him out if he is still alive? I looked under the bottom of the cage as his back end is on the glass, but I still did not see any movement or "pulsing" there either, but what is worrisome to me is it looked like fluid within his hard casing on the bloated side of his body.

1. Size of enclosure- 10 gal aquarium with hood for light
2. # of inhabitants- none; Kermit fly's solo
3. Humidity- 70% currently
4. Temperature- 80 on water dish side; 78 on the side where he is- after lights out temp drops to 75
5. Water - type - for both misting and soaking dish- distilled
6. Materials used for substrate- Ecoearth
7. Enclosure set up i.e. plants (live or artificial), wood, bark and other materials.
-1 large resin (hard plastic type- two sides and a roof) house used for fish aquariums- has fake plants on it, but out of frog reach.
-Water dish is the exo terra feeding dish the shallow one-I believe it is the largest one that comes in the pack of 3.
8. Main food source- when active fuzzy mice#1, Pacman soft bites food by Zoo Med#2, Crickets from pet store#3- I let him choose what he wants feeding day
9. Vitamins and calcium? (how often)- food of choice dusted with rep-cal phos. free calcium with Vit. D3 every 2 feedings.
10. Lighting- exo terra daytime heat lamp 25w multi purpose
11. What is being used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure- light listed above
12. When is the last time he/she ate- 3 months ago, going on 4
13. Have you found poop lately- not since big meal before going into estivation
14. A pic would be helpful including frog and enclosure (any including cell phone pic is fine)- says wrong file type and wont let me attach
15. Describe frog's symptoms and/or recent physical changes; to include it's ventral/belly area.- Ate a big meal and settled down for estivation like every other year. Had a rough summer, got mites from store bought moss, and had skin scraping of back and stomach/hind leg area (was red and patchy)- pathologist didn't know what was on the slide. I thought "reg leg" the vet said no. Also had "ulcer" on top of back that bled periodically, but eventually healed. Acted normal prior to "winter nap". Currently looking up through the bottom of the aquarium at his "normal" side... looks like fluid in between his skin and casing. Left side looking down on him is wrinkled today- normal looking yesterday.
16. How old is the frog- 11 years?
17. How long have you owned him/her- 10 years 9 months
18. Is the frog wild caught or captive bred- came from PetCo- I would assume captive?
19. Frog food- how often and if it is diverse, what other feeders are used as treats- Pacman soft bites and Hikari pac attack sticks
20. How often the frog is handled- only when relocating to clean the cage, but not touched- latex free gloves used
21. Is the enclosure kept in a high or low traffic area- low
22. Describe enclosure maintenance (water changes, cleaning, etc)- poop scoop several times a week, water change every 2-3 days (during estivation) 1-2 days when active and seen soaking. Total Ecoearth dump once a month, entire enclosure cleaned with dawn dish soap at that time rinsed thoroughly and sun dried. Towel dried in winter months.