Instructions
Check for orange-red spots with black borders on the back of the eft. If it has them, it's a red-spotted eastern newt.
Look for broken black stripes on the back. If it has the stripes, it's a broken-striped newt.
Check the back and sides. If there are no spots or stripes at all, it's a central newt.
Check the location. The peninsula newt is the only eastern newt in the Florida peninsula.
How to Identify Orange Newts in the Eastern U.S.
Orange newts occur as a single stage in the life of the eastern newt, Notophthalmus viridescens. These newts lay their eggs in ponds during spring, where the eggs develop into larva. The larva are brown, dark green or yellowish-brown. At the end of summer, the larva shed their external gills and change to the terrestrial juvenile form, called an eft. It is the efts that have the red or reddish-orange color. The newts live as efts for up to four years before they change into brownish adults and return to the water. There are four subspecies, which you can tell apart by their patterns.