Armadillo mob in Minecraft
The Armadillo is a small, shy mob of savannas and badlands that rolls into a ball when it feels threatened. Brush it, or simply wait, to collect armadillo scutes, the only material for crafting and repairing wolf armor.
- Health
- 126 hearts
- Behavior
- Passive
- Food
Spider Eye- Found in
- 6 biomes
Armadillo stats
- Health
- 12 6 hearts
- Behavior
- Passive
- Spawns in
- 6 biomes
- Size
- 0.7 × 0.65 blocks
- XP when killed
- 1 to 3none as a baby
- Speed
- 0.14
- Detection range
- 16 blocks
- Tempt range
- 10 blocks
// Experience drops only when a player kills it. Speeds are the game’s internal values, not blocks per second.
Where to find Armadillo
Biomes where it spawns naturally, with its share of the spawns in each group.
- Group size
- 2 to 31 to 3 · depends on the biome
- Light level
- 9 or more
- Spawns on
Brown Terracotta
Coarse Dirt
Grass Block
Light Gray Terracotta
Orange Terracotta
Red Sand
Red Terracotta
Terracotta
White Terracotta
Yellow Terracotta
Armadillo drops
Nothing.
Health compared
Armadillo12
Food and breeding
Items it eats, follows or breeds with.
What you can do with Armadillo
Items to use on it and what happens.
BrushBrushA Brush makes it drop an Armadillo Scute without hurting it. Baby Armadillo
Bred with Spider Eye All baby mobs → Advancements with Armadillo
Advancements whose criteria involve this mob, from the game files.
Command
/summon minecraft:armadillo ~ ~ ~Where to find armadillos
Armadillos spawn in savannas and badlands, often in small groups. They are slow and easy to walk up to, as long as you do not run at them.
Why armadillos roll up
An armadillo curls into its shell when it senses danger: when it has just been hurt, when an undead mob such as a Zombie or a Skeleton comes near, or when a player sprints or rides close by. Rolled up, it takes less damage and does not move. It peeks out after a while to check that the coast is clear. If one rolls up in front of you, stop sprinting and wait a moment: it will open again.
How to get armadillo scutes
- Brush it. Use a brush on an adult armadillo and it drops an armadillo scute right away. Each use wears the brush down, so bring a spare.
- Let it shed. Armadillos also drop a scute on their own from time to time. A few of them in a pen give you scutes without any effort.
- Automate it. A dispenser holding a brush brushes an armadillo standing in front of it.
Killing an armadillo gives you nothing, so a pen is always the better deal. Lure them with spider eyes, which they follow and which make them breed, and build the pen out of reach of undead mobs. Otherwise your armadillos spend every night rolled up, and zombies wandering past keep them nervous.
What scutes are used for
Scutes craft wolf armor, and they repair it too: use a scute on an armored wolf to fix the damage. Armor wears down in every fight, so keep a stack of scutes if you travel with dogs. A pair of armadillos near your base is the easiest way to keep that stack full.
✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026
Armadillo — FAQ
How do you get armadillo scutes?
Use a brush on an adult armadillo, or wait for it to shed one on its own. Killing it gives nothing.
Why does my armadillo stay rolled up?
Something scares it: an undead mob nearby, a player sprinting or riding close by, or damage it just took. Remove the threat and it unrolls.
What do armadillos eat?
Spider eyes. Hold one to make them follow you, and feed two of them to breed them.
Where does the Armadillo spawn?
In Savanna, Savanna Plateau, Windswept Savanna, Badlands, Eroded Badlands and Wooded Badlands.
What does an Armadillo drop?
Nothing.
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