[8] Tiger salamanders are a sexually dimorphic species, as the males are larger in body size, as well as have longer and higher tails than females.

[10] Their diet consists largely of small insects, snails, slugs, frogs, and worms, although it is not rare for an adult to turn cannibalistic and consume its own kind.

[6][11] Cannibalism in these salamanders can almost always be traced back to a large volume of competing predators and lack of prey in the area.

[14] Tiger salamanders habitats range from woodlands crowded with conifer and deciduous trees to grassy open fields.

[4] These amphibians are secretive creatures who spend most of their lives underground in burrows, making them difficult to spot.

The ideal breeding condition for tiger salamanders ranges from wetlands, such as cattle ponds and vernal pools, to flooded swamps.

[19] In aquatic environments, higher pH and lower water conductivity have both been correlated with a larger population of males specifically.

Tiger salamanders have been shown to travel up to 255 meters after their breeding cycles are complete, which is likely them returning to their original home ranges.

[22] The tiger salamander's ideal breeding period is somewhere between the late winter and early spring, once the ground is warm enough and the water is thawed.

[25] It takes a tiger salamander approximately three months to reach full maturity and leave the breeding pool.

The larva is entirely aquatic, and is characterized by large external gills[27][13] and a prominent caudal fin that originates just behind the head, similar to the Mexican axolotl.

[15] Although immune themselves, tiger salamanders transmit the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which is a major worldwide threat to most frog species by causing the disease chytridiomycosis.

Using tiger salamander larvae as fishing bait appears to be a major source of exposure and transport to wild populations.

While they never metamorphose under natural conditions, metamorphosis can be induced in them, resulting in a form very similar to the plateau tiger salamander.