Overview
Armadillos exist for one reason and they do not hide it: their scutes are the only material Wolf Armor is made from, and you collect those without killing anything. Brush a live Armadillo with a brush and it drops a scute; left alone it also sheds one naturally every few minutes, so a small pen of them becomes a renewable supply rather than a hunting trip. The mob itself has 12 health, is entirely harmless, and spends most of its time trotting around savannas and badlands. Its defining behaviour is the roll: sprint within about seven blocks of one, hit it, or bring any hostile mob near it and it curls into a ball for roughly three seconds, takes no knockback while balled, and refuses to move. That matters because a rolled-up Armadillo cannot be brushed, so a herd that keeps panicking produces nothing. Walk, do not sprint, when you go to harvest. Breeding runs on spider eyes, which is unusual enough to catch people out — the food that poisons you is the food an Armadillo wants — and spiders are a renewable source of them. It arrived with the 1.20.5 update alongside Wolf Armor itself, and the two were designed as a pair: no Armadillo, no armour for your Wolf.
Armadillo scutes, and nothing else. Six scutes craft one set of Wolf Armor, and spare scutes repair that armour at an anvil, which makes a breeding pen the standard way to keep a fighting dog pack alive.
Armadillos wander placidly until something frightens them, then roll into a ball for three seconds and refuse to move. They roll up when a player sprints within seven blocks, when hit, or when any hostile mob is nearby, and while rolled they take no knockback. Their scutes are the only source of Wolf Armor, harvested with a brush rather than by killing them.
Armadillo is a passive mob in Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.4. You will need to deal 12 damage — 6 hearts — to kill one. It is worth 3 XP.
Properties
Armadillo has 12 health, which is 6 hearts. It drops up to 3 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.7 blocks wide and 0.65 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.
- Added in
- 1.20.5
- Breedable
- Yes
Spawns in
Spawns in small groups on grass or sand in dry, warm biomes.
It is restricted to Savanna, Savanna Plateau, Windswept Savanna, Badlands, Eroded Badlands and 1 more, so it will never turn up outside those biomes however dark it gets.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Light level
- Any
- Biomes
- Savanna, Savanna Plateau, Windswept Savanna, Badlands, Eroded Badlands, Wooded Badlands
- Added in
- 1.20.5
Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.20.5
Drops
Killing Armadillo drops Armadillo Scute, plus up to 3 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.
- Armadillo Scute: 0 — Not a death drop. Scutes are obtained by brushing a live armadillo, or dropped naturally roughly every 5-10 minutes.
How it behaves
The Armadillo never attacks. The only reason to be careful around one is that killing it is often not what you want: breeding it is worth more than the drop.
Killed by a player it drops up to 3 experience; killed any other way it drops none.
Command
In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Armadillo where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:armadillo ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you get armadillo scutes?
Brush a live Armadillo with a brush, or wait — an adult drops one on its own every few minutes. Killing it gives you nothing.
What do Armadillos eat?
Spider eyes. They are the only breeding item, and holding one will lead an Armadillo around without a lead.
Where do Armadillos spawn?
Savanna, savanna plateau, windswept savanna, badlands, eroded badlands and wooded badlands, on grass or sand, at any light level.
How much health does an Armadillo have?
12 health, six hearts. It never attacks, and while rolled up it cannot be knocked back.
How much health does the Armadillo have in Minecraft?
The Armadillo has 12 health points, which is 6 hearts.
What does the Armadillo drop?
It drops Armadillo Scute, plus 3 experience when killed by a player.
Where does the Armadillo spawn?
Spawns in small groups on grass or sand in dry, warm biomes.
Related pages
How to get it
Armadillos spawn in small groups on grass or sand in savanna and badlands biomes at any light level, so 1 or 2 short trips usually fill a pen. Lead them home on a lead, or breed a pair with spider eyes.
Tips
- Walk rather than sprint inside the pen — sprinting within seven blocks makes them roll up, and a rolled Armadillo cannot be brushed.
- Keep the pen well lit and fenced: a nearby hostile mob triggers the same roll and stops scute collection cold.
- Farm spider eyes from a cave Spider if you plan to breed; the eyes are the only food they will accept.
- A brush wears out, so bring two, and collect the scutes that drop on their own between brushings as well.