The Secret Diet Of Minecraft Armadillos: 7 Surprising Facts About Spider Eyes, Scutes, And Wolf Armor

The introduction of the Armadillo in Minecraft's 1.20.5 update has brought a fascinating new passive mob to the Overworld, but it also introduced one of the most unexpected dietary requirements in the game. Forget carrots, seeds, or wheat—the armored creature has a bizarre and highly specific favorite food that is essential for players looking to breed them and unlock one of the most valuable new crafting materials: Wolf Armor. As of today, December 10, 2025, the Armadillo remains a vital mob for survivalists who rely on their canine companions.

The most common question among players is simple: "What do armadillos eat in Minecraft?" The answer is the key to unlocking their full utility, from breeding a steady supply of scutes to understanding their unique behavior in the wild. This comprehensive guide will break down the Armadillo's entire ecosystem, ensuring you can find them, feed them, and equip your wolves with the protection they deserve.

The Shocking Truth: What Armadillos Eat in Minecraft

The diet of the Minecraft Armadillo is one of the game's biggest surprises, directly tying their in-game mechanics to their real-world counterparts. Unlike many other mobs that eat common crops, the Armadillo requires a specific, slightly sinister item.

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Spider Eyes: The Armadillo's Favorite Snack

Armadillos in Minecraft have a singular food source for breeding and accelerated growth: the Spider Eye. This is the item you must hold in your hand and feed to an Armadillo to initiate the breeding process or to speed up the growth of a baby Armadillo.

• Breeding: You need two Armadillos and two Spider Eyes to get a baby Armadillo.
• Growth Acceleration: Feeding a baby Armadillo a Spider Eye reduces its remaining growth time by 10%.
• Acquisition: Spider Eyes are a common drop from both regular Spiders and the more dangerous Cave Spiders. This means you will need to do a bit of night hunting or cave exploration to secure a reliable supply.

The choice of Spider Eyes is a subtle nod to the real-world diet of armadillos, which primarily consists of insects, grubs, and other small invertebrates. In the Minecraft world, the Spider Eye represents this insect-based diet, making it a clever and thematically appropriate choice, even if it is a poisonous food item for the player!

Where to Find and How to Interact with the Armadillo Mob

Before you can start feeding them, you need to know where these little armored friends spawn. Armadillos were introduced as a passive mob in the 1.20.5 update, often referred to as the "Armour Paws Update," and they have specific biome preferences.

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Preferred Biomes: Savanna and Badlands

Armadillos are warm-weather creatures, so you will find them exclusively in the dry, arid biomes of the Overworld.

• Savanna: This is the most common spawning ground, including all variants such as the Savanna Plateau and Windswept Savanna. They often spawn in small groups here.
• Badlands: You can also find them in the various Badlands biomes, including Eroded Badlands, which are characterized by their distinct terracotta blocks.

Once you locate a Savanna or Badlands biome, keep an eye out for their unique behavior. They are small and can easily blend into the tall grass and dry terrain.

Unique Mechanics: The Roll-Up Defense

The Armadillo is a passive mob, meaning it will not attack the player, but it does have a unique defense mechanism: the roll-up state. This behavior is triggered when the Armadillo feels threatened.

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• Triggers: The Armadillo will curl into a block-like form if a player sprints too close, rides a mount nearby, or causes any harm.
• Effect: While rolled up, it will not move or respond to food, making it impossible to breed or collect scutes.
• Hostile Mobs: Certain hostile mobs, notably Zombies and Skeletons, will cause the Armadillo to curl up, but Creepers, Spiders, and Phantoms do not seem to trigger this defensive state.
• Solution: To get an Armadillo to uncurl, simply back away and stand still for a few seconds. Approach slowly and walk, not sprint, when you intend to interact with them.

The Ultimate Goal: Armadillo Scutes and Wolf Armor

The entire reason players are so keen on finding and breeding Armadillos is for the unique item they drop: the Armadillo Scute. This item is the key ingredient for crafting the highly anticipated Wolf Armor, a game-changer for dog owners.

How to Get Armadillo Scutes

Unlike other mobs that drop items upon death, Armadillos drop scutes while they are alive. This makes them a renewable resource.

1. Acquire a Brush: You must first craft a Brush (made with a Feather, a Copper Ingot, and a Stick).
2. Use the Brush: Right-click or use the Brush on a non-curled Armadillo.
3. Collect the Scute: The Armadillo will drop a single Armadillo Scute. This process has no cooldown, meaning you can collect scutes from the same Armadillo repeatedly, though the brush will take durability damage.

It is important to note that the Armadillo will also drop a Scute naturally every 5–10 minutes, but using the Brush is the fastest and most reliable method for farming them.

Crafting and Using Wolf Armor

Wolf Armor is one of the most significant protective additions to Minecraft, allowing players to finally give their loyal wolves a massive boost in survivability. The armor is crafted using the scutes you collect.

• The Recipe: Wolf Armor is crafted with six Armadillo Scutes in a specific pattern on the Crafting Table. The pattern is one scute in the top-left corner, and then a full row of three scutes in the middle row and two scutes on the left and right of the bottom row, leaving the center bottom slot empty.
• Protection Level: Wolf Armor provides a substantial amount of protection for your wolf, making them much harder to kill in combat against mobs like Creepers, Skeletons, and Zombies. It is comparable to Diamond Armor for a player.
• Applying the Armor: You must hold the Wolf Armor and right-click or use it on a tamed wolf.
• Removing the Armor: To remove the armor, you must use Shears on the armored wolf. This will drop the Wolf Armor item back into your inventory.

The introduction of Wolf Armor has dramatically changed the dynamic of using wolves in exploration and combat, turning them from fragile companions into genuine, armored allies.

Armadillo Entity List and Key Takeaways

To summarize the essential information for mastering the Armadillo, here is a quick reference guide containing all the key entities and mechanics introduced with this valuable mob:

In conclusion, the Armadillo is far more than just another cute mob. Its unique diet of Spider Eyes and its contribution of Armadillo Scutes for Wolf Armor make it one of the most strategically important passive mobs in the game today. By understanding its biome preferences (Savanna and Badlands) and its defensive roll-up mechanism, you can easily establish a Scute farm and finally give your beloved wolves the protection they have always needed.