They use the hard, keratinized spade on each foot to dig a burrow, where they spend long periods during cold and dry weather.

While their tadpoles have numerous predators, adults are able to produce skin secretions that deter enemies.

The natural habitats of the Great Basin spadefoot include pinyon-juniper, ponderosa pine, and high elevation (up to 2,600 metres or 8,500 feet[4]) spruce-fir forests, semidesert shrubland, sagebrush flats, temperate grasslands, and deserts.

Their range extends throughout all of Nevada and into most of Utah; they are also present in small areas in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming.

Breeding may take place in permanent or temporary water sources such as springs, sluggish streams, and manmade reservoirs during the months of April through July.

Spring rains usually provide the stimulus for males to emerge from their burrows for breeding, although unlike other spadefoots (Scaphiopus spp.

Developing rapidly helps Great Basin spadefoots avoid desiccation and consequent death in their arid environment.

[4] Young morphs (metamorphosed preadults) are small, about 0.8 inch (19 mm) in length on average.

Adults have been shown to eat arthropods from the taxa Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera, Trichoptera, Collembola, and Araneae.

[4][10] Reported predators of adult Great Basin spadefoot toads include rattlesnakes, coyotes, and owls.

Predators of larva include mud turtles (Kinosternon flavescens), spotted skunks (Spilogale putarius),[11] raccoons (Procyon lotor),[12] common crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and snakes.

The toad use the hard, keratinized spade on each foot to dig a burrow, where it spends long periods during cold and dry weather.

Fat reserves are metabolized slowly during dormancy, and females may reabsorb their eggs if spring rains do not occur.