Salamanders are voiceless. Despite lack of visible eardrums, they can hear. Eye sight is good, but they probably use the sense of smell more in finding food and in locating a mate. Reproduction For mole salamanders, it usually takes about 2 years to reach sexual maturity. Prompted by rain soon after ice is gone in the early spring, tiger salamanders emerge from burrows and migrate overland.
Large groups gather in fishless ponds and temporary pools to mate.
Males arrive first. A male nuzzles a female as she floats above him. She attaches small clusters of the colorless eggs to under water plants or debris. It is difficult to tell the sex of a salamander or identify the species except during breeding season. Other species of salamanders may live up to 50 years.