Larval salamanders are very similar in body shape, but body size, development, and coloration can be generally used to distinguish between the different species. For example, marbled salamanders breed in the fall producing larvae, which by spring are larger and more developed than the later winter-spring breeding tiger and spotted salamanders. Egg masses of spring breeding species can generally be distinguished by the size and shape of the egg mass, embryo size, and egg mass consistency. Tiger salamanders migrate to breeding ponds as early as mid January or as late as March and early April in New York, depending on winter weather conditions. As with most mole salamanders, rain or melting snow stimulates the adults to emerge from underground retreats and migrate to breeding ponds.
Males usually outnumber and reach the ponds before females.
Courtship begins when a female encounters one or more males. The female maneuvers herself to insert spermataphores into her cloaca, where sperm from the spermatophore may fertilize her eggs. The aquatic larvae have fan-like gills but gradually develop lungs in preparation for a terrestrial adult life. Adults leave the ponds soon after breeding, triggered by favorable weather conditions such as rain or high humidity, while subadults migrate following transformation. Occasionally, salamanders may move under leaf litter, through hollow logs or beneath debris.