 When attacked, adults and juveniles lower their heads to expose their parotoid glands which exude a noxious secretion.This salamander is an opportunistic feeder, eating almost anything smaller than itself which it can overpower, including various arthropods and tadpoles.In its Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN lists "Ambystoma talpoideum" as being "Least Concern" because the population trend is stable.