The Chinhai spiny newt is a secretive, land-dwelling species that hibernates for about five months of the year during the winter. Females mate and then migrate to egg-laying sites next to small ponds. The eggs hatch and are washed into the adjacent pond by heavy rains in May. They metamorphose in the pond and then permanently leave the water. This species possesses a remarkable defense mechanism against predators. They have sharp, elongated ribs whose tips project through the skin when these animals are grasped and inject painful skin secretions into the mouths of would-be predators. This species is mainly threatened by habitat destruction and the pollution of its breeding ponds.