Red spotted newts

[chris]

Can adult red spotted newts become completely terrestrial(kinda stay an eft and not turn green)? How long does the eft stage last?

The reason I'm asking is my friend has an adult and an eft,and the one we think is an adult has been an eft for nine years!!

Please help him, THANKS

 

[jennifer]

I have heard that adult eastern newts are quite flexible about living on land versus water. I think it is even possible for an aquatic adult to return to a terrestrial life if their pond becomes unlivable. However, they would retain their green color.

In this case, the "adult" still has the red coloration, right? Then I would say it is certainly still an "eft". I've heard they can stay efts up to 8 years, so maybe 9 years is not too strange.

Just out of curiousity, what locality did this "old eft" come from?