Armadillos in Minecraft 1.20.5: Diet, Spawns, and Scute Drops Explained

Armadillos shuffled into the overworld with update 1.20.5, settling into Savanna and Badlands biomes. Their food preference catches most players off guard, so here is the rundown on where they spawn, what they crave, and what you can craft from their scutes.

Where Armadillos Spawn

You will find armadillos across savannas, savanna plateaus, windswept savannas, badlands, eroded badlands, and wooded badlands. If you want to round up a herd quickly, head to a savanna. Spawns there come in groups of two or three, while badlands typically produce only one or two at a time.

Their Favorite Food

Armadillos eat spider eyes. The snack sounds strange, but the reasoning is grounded: real-world armadillos feed on insects and invertebrates, and Mojang leaned into the reference. As a bonus, in-game spiders actually flee from armadillos because of it, so the food chain has officially flipped.

Hold a spider eye in your hand and a calm armadillo will follow you around like an oversized armored puppy. To breed them, feed two adults a spider eye each. A baby armadillo pops into the world shortly after.

What Armadillos Drop

Armadillos passively drop one armadillo scute every five to ten minutes, in the same rhythm chickens use for eggs. If patience is not your strong suit, brush an armadillo and pull a scute on the spot. Killing one yields nothing else useful, just one to three experience orbs.

Crafting Wolf Armor with Scutes

Six scutes are enough to craft a piece of wolf armor at a crafting table. Place one scute in the top-left slot, fill the entire middle row with three more, and finish with two scutes in the bottom-left and bottom-right slots. Your dog now has plating, ready for whatever the next cave dive throws at it.

Closing Notes

Armadillos look cuddly, eat spider eyes, and somehow intimidate the same arachnids that chase you through every cave. Nothing in the code confirms they actively hunt spiders in-game, but it is fun to imagine giant prehistoric armadillos roaming the underground long ago. For now, stock up on spider eyes, build a small herd, and keep your wolves well-armored.