Notophthalmus Viridescens

The eastern newt is a common newt of eastern North America in the family Salamandridae, and it produces the toxin tetrodotoxin, which makes it unpalatable to fish and crayfish. Its juvenile stage, called a red eft, is bright orange as a warning signal, and the species passes through three life stages: aquatic larva, terrestrial red eft, and aquatic adult. It lives in small lakes, ponds, vernal pools and streams and nearby wooded areas across eastern North America, growing to about five inches and living 12 to 15 years in the wild, and it is commonly kept as an aquarium pet.