The Armadillo is a passive mob found in warm biomes. It is known for its unique defensive behavior of rolling into a ball and is the primary source of Armadillo Scutes, which are used to craft Wolf Armor.
Appearance
The Armadillo has a distinct, blocky appearance with a brownish-yellow, segmented shell covering its back. It has six legs, pinkish skin on its underside and face, droopy ears, and a small tail. When it rolls up, its model retracts into a textured cube resembling its shell. Baby armadillos are smaller versions of adults, with a proportionally larger head in Bedrock Edition.
Behavior & AI
Armadillos are passive creatures that wander aimlessly. Their primary mechanic is a defensive response to perceived threats.
Threat Response (Rolling Up)
An Armadillo rolls into a protective ball for 3 seconds (60 ticks) when it detects a threat. Threats include:
- A player sprinting, on a mount, or in a vehicle within an 8-block radius.
- Undead mobs (like Zombies or Skeletons) within an 8-block radius.
- Any mob or player that has recently dealt damage to it.
- Spiders and Cave Spiders within a 12-block radius.
While rolled up, the Armadillo is immobile and gains significant damage reduction. It periodically peeks out; if no threats are detected for 3 consecutive seconds, it will unroll and resume its normal behavior. Spiders and cave spiders will actively flee from an armadillo, regardless of whether it is rolled up or not.
| Armadillo Quick Stats | |
|---|---|
| Name | Armadillo |
| Namespaced ID | minecraft:armadillo |
| Alignment | Passive |
| Dimensions | Adult: 0.8 blocks (height) x 0.7 blocks (width) Baby: 0.4 blocks (height) x 0.35 blocks (width) |
| Health | 12 ❤️ (24 points) |
| Damage | 0 (Does not attack) |
| Movement Speed | 0.25 blocks/second (Normal) | 0.1 blocks/second (Fleeing) |
| Threat Detection | 8 blocks: Sprinting players, mounted players, undead mobs. 12 blocks: Spiders and Cave Spiders. |
| Experience Drop | 1–3 XP |
| Spawn Biomes | Savanna, Badlands, and their variants. |
| First Added | Java: 1.20.5 | Bedrock: 1.20.80 |
Abilities, Attacks & Status Effects
The Armadillo has no offensive capabilities but possesses unique defensive abilities.
- Damage Reduction: When rolled into a ball, it negates all damage from the first hit if the damage is 4 (❤️❤️) or less. Subsequent damage is reduced by 1 heart (2 points), making it highly resilient to weak attacks.
- Fall Damage Resistance: It takes significantly reduced fall damage compared to most mobs.
- Spider Repellent: Spiders and Cave Spiders are frightened by armadillos and will not approach them, making them a useful natural pest control.
Food, Breeding & Growth
Armadillos can be bred by the player to create more.
- Food Item: Spider Eyes.
- Breeding: Feeding spider eyes to two adult armadillos places them into love mode. They will pair off and produce a baby armadillo. There is a 5-minute cooldown before they can be bred again.
- Growth: A baby armadillo takes 20 minutes (one full Minecraft day) to mature. This process can be accelerated by feeding it spider eyes, with each one reducing the remaining growth time by 10%.
- Leashing: Armadillos can be attached to a lead.
Spawning
Armadillos spawn naturally in specific warm biomes under common surface conditions.
| Armadillo Spawning Conditions | |
|---|---|
| Biomes | Savanna, Savanna Plateau, Windswept Savanna, Badlands, Eroded Badlands, Wooded Badlands. |
| Light Level | Sky light level of 7 or more (daylight). |
| Spawn Block | Grass Block, Coarse Dirt, or Red Sand. |
| Group Size | 1-3 Armadillos. |
Drops & Loot
Armadillos are a source of a unique crafting material, the Armadillo Scute.
| Item | Source | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armadillo Scute | Natural Drop | 1 | Drops periodically on its own without player interaction. The Looting enchantment has no effect. |
| Armadillo Scute | Brushing | 1 | Using a Brush on an Armadillo yields one scute. Has a 5-minute cooldown. |
| Experience Orbs | Death | 1–3 | Dropped when killed by a player or a tamed wolf. |
Player Uses & Farming
The primary use for armadillos is farming Armadillo Scutes to craft Wolf Armor, which provides significant protection for tamed wolves. A simple scute farm can be created by confining several armadillos in an enclosure and using a dispenser with a Brush connected to a redstone clock to automate the brushing process.
Commands & NBT
Armadillos can be summoned and modified using commands.
Summon Examples
# Summon a standard adult Armadillo
/summon minecraft:armadillo ~ ~ ~
# Summon a baby Armadillo that will never grow up
/summon minecraft:armadillo ~ ~ ~ {IsBaby:1, Age:-2147483648}
Notable NBT Data
{Age:0}: An integer representing the armadillo’s age. Negative values are for babies, positive values for breeding cooldown.{BrushCooldown:0}: Ticks until the armadillo can be brushed for a scute again. Defaults to 6000 (5 minutes).
Sounds & Audio
- Ambient:
entity.armadillo.ambient(Armadillo squeaks) - Death:
entity.armadillo.death(Armadillo dies) - Hurt:
entity.armadillo.hurt(Armadillo hurts) - Roll Up:
entity.armadillo.roll(Armadillo rolls up) - Unroll:
entity.armadillo.unroll_finish(Armadillo unrolls) - Scute Drop:
entity.armadillo.scute_drop(Armadillo drops scute)
History & Major Changes
- Mob Vote 2023: The Armadillo was the winner of the community Mob Vote, defeating the Crab and the Penguin.
- Snapshot 24w03a (Java): First introduced for testing.
- Version 1.20.5 (Java) / 1.20.80 (Bedrock): Officially released as part of the “Armored Paws” update.
- Version 1.21: Became a key part of the Tricky Trials update, as its scutes are the sole ingredient for crafting Wolf Armor.
Advancements/Achievements
| Name | Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Isn’t It Scute? | Get an Armadillo Scute from an Armadillo using a Brush. | Present in both Java and Bedrock Edition. |
See Also
- Wolf Armor
- Brush (Tool)
- Spider Eye
- Savanna Biome
