The species lives in the headwaters of small mountain streams, and brooks in sub-alpine meadows, and forest-meadow and forest-meadow-steppe belts. Large streams and rivers are avoided. Reproduction extends from April to August in streams up to 1-2 m wide. Clutches comprising two egg sacs of around 10-50 eggs each are generally attached under large flat stones and boulders but rarely on moss, pebbles or plant stems. Larval development is slow, with larvae mainly feeding on stream invertebrates. Males reach maturity at 4.5-5 years, whereas females reach maturity at 5-6 years (Bannikov 1949, Nishikawa et al. 2017). The minimum age of breeding individuals is 6-7 years (Nishikawa et al. 2017), the age of mid-size adults is 11-12 years (at 170 mm: Antipenkova 1982) and the maximum length of Ranodon is 240-270 cm (Kuzmin 2012, T. Dujsebayeva own data 2022). In captivity, some animals were found to have survived for more than 27 years (Kuzmin 2012). Based on this information, its generation length is estimated to be 10-12 years (T. Dujsebayeva pers. comm. January 2022).

It has been hypothesized that the ancestors of this genus were lowland salamanders with pond-type larvae, which were shifted to mountains by the overall aridization of the lowlands of Kazakhstan in the Cenozoic. On the other hand, the larvae of this species are not typical "brook-type" larvae. These ancestral, "underdeveloped" adaptations to life in brooks, together with some biological peculiarities (high site-fidelity, low rate of population turnover, and specialization to habitat) may represent an important constraint for the successful dispersal of this species in steep and swift mountain streams. Subpopulations of this species live on the periphery of the mountain system of the Junggarian Alatau, not penetrating inwards, which supports this idea of a constraint.

This species is restricted to the southern and south-western spurs of the Junggarian Alatau Ridge in south-eastern Kazakhstan, and Mount Tianshan in Wenquan County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It also occurs in adjacent Yining, Huocheng and may occur in Tacheng Counties of Uygur Autonomous Region (AOO < 7,000 km²), and was historically also found in Hergos County. It occurs between 1,500-2,700 m asl in the Kazakhstan territory and 1,800-3,200 m asl in the Xinjiang territory. Suitable habitats are not numerous on the Junggarian Alatau, but this salamander is absent even from many of these (T. Dujsebayeva pers. comm. April 2021). It occurs in fewer than five threat-defined locations, and its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 5,959 km².

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species is listed in the Red Data Books of Kazakhstan and is listed as a Class I protected species by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The species is protected in the Xinjiang Salamander National Nature Reserve of China, and present outside of the boundaries of the reserve. The species is currently present in a State Nature Sanctuary in Kazakhstan, although not under strict conservation rules, and the only attempts at translocation were conducted in China (Kuzmin et al. 1998), where it is present in several nature reserves. It is also on the "List of Beneficial or of Important Economic or Scientific Value Terrestrial Wild Animals under States Protection", under the protection of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife", which provides a moderate degree of protection and makes it illegal to collect (China Red List Assessment Workshop June 2019).

Conservation Needed
Existing conservation measures are considered to be insufficient, and there is a need for the immediate development and implementation of an effective system for conservation of the species at national (Kazakhstan and China) and international level including further habitat protection and legislation to protect the species. The most important measure recommended is the urgent creation of special strict nature reserves. 

Research Needed
Additional protective legislation and research on all points of the species’ life history are needed for its conservation.