Injured or Sick Toad ... Any Ideas?

I've got a Southern Toad that is having problems with its back legs. Found it in the yard lying on its back because it could not use its back legs to help it turn over. I've done what examination I can, with the following results: it does have feeling in its feet ... it can draw its legs up toward its body, but can't seem to get them positioned under its body such that it could hop or walk -- the legs are kind of splayed usually, but I can place the legs and feet up in the proper position and they go into this position normally without anything looking odd ... legs don't seem to be broken ... at the very lower end of the toad's belly, there is a light reddish discoloration but this does not seem to be spreading and I am thinking it might be a bruise (the toad might have been stepped on by one of the dogs). The toad is hungry and will eat, is easy to feed so long as what I give it is placed near enough for the toad's tongue to reach, because the toad can't hop or crawl normally to get around. Also, it makes little chirp noises at times when I am handling it, could these be due to pain? Other than feeding it and keeping an eye on it (made up a terrarium for it), the only "treatment" I have felt was safe to try was to soak its lower body for a while in warm water this evening. I thought that might be soothing if the problem is a bruise.

Any ideas appreciated.

Sometimes when toads are handled, they emit sounds similar to the noises you described as a type of defense mechanism. The "bruise" you are describing sounds nearly like red-leg disease.

[Hunter]

Barb,
You are very saintly indeed. My daughter, who is a student in your area, rescues box turtles. they are obviously very different animals, but the main thing they seem need to is time, fresh water, food and a clean place to live. It seems to me that if the toad is going to make it, it will have to heal on its own, with you supplying the time (safety) fresh water, food and cleanliness. It does not help that we are in the winter, where the toad would like to be in a nice safe hole, snoozing away. Warm water is bad for bruises in mammals, since the warmth encourages further bleeding. I would leave the soaking alone. Toads don't need much of that. Handling is stressful on the little fellas. Do that as seldom as possible.