How to Find Armadillos in Minecraft: Locations, Tips and Everything in Between
So you’ve heard about armadillos showing up in Minecraft and now you want one – or twelve. Fair enough. These little guys are one of the more interesting passive mobs added in the 1.21 Update, and honestly, they’re more useful than they look. But first you’ve got to actually find one, which means knowing where to look. Spoiler: they’re not spawning in your forest or plains biome. Let’s get into the guide about how to find armadillos in Minecraft.
Meet the Armadillo: What Even Is This Thing?
Armadillos were voted into Minecraft during the 2023 Mob Vote, beating out the Crab and the Penguin. Players picked them, and Mojang delivered – they made it into Java and Bedrock Edition as part of the 1.21 “Tricky Trials” update, which released in June 2024.
They’re a passive mob, meaning they won’t attack you. In fact, they do the opposite – if a player sprints near one, approaches on horseback, or gets too close with an undead mob around, the armadillo curls up into a ball and plays defense. That’s their signature move, and it’s actually kind of adorable.
Here’s what sets them apart from most passive mobs:
- They drop armadillo scutes when brushed or when they naturally shed.
- Scutes are used to craft wolf armor – a brand-new item that protects your tamed wolves.
- They can be bred using spider eyes (yeah, spider eyes – not carrots, not wheat).
- Baby armadillos grow up over time and also drop scutes as they mature.
That wolf armor thing is the real reason most players go hunting for armadillos. If you’ve got a pack of wolves following you around and you actually want them to survive a fight, wolf armor is basically a must-have. Each piece requires six armadillo scutes, so you’ll want more than one armadillo if you’re planning ahead.
Where Do Armadillos Spawn? Here’s the Short Answer
Before you spend 45 minutes wandering through a birch forest, know this: armadillos only spawn in two biomes. That’s it. They’re not a common mob that shows up everywhere – they’re tied to specific warm, dry environments.
| Biome | Notes |
|---|---|
| Savanna | Most reliable spawn point; armadillos appear in herds of 1-3 |
| Badlands | Also valid, but a rarer biome overall; can be harder to locate |
Both of these biomes have that dry, dusty aesthetic in common. Think orange-tinted terrain, acacia trees in the savanna, or terracotta-heavy cliffs in the badlands. Once you’ve found either one, armadillos will spawn on grass or terracotta blocks during the day. They don’t do anything particularly dramatic – they just wander around, minding their business.
One thing worth knowing: armadillos don’t spawn in every savanna sub-biome. The Windswept Savanna (the one with the extreme cliffs and weird terrain shapes) is not a valid spawn location. Stick to the regular flat or hilly savanna, and you’ll be fine.
How to Actually Find Them: Step-by-Step
This is where players hit a wall – not because armadillos are rare exactly, but because finding the right biome first can take a while depending on your seed. Here’s a practical approach:
Step 1: Use the /locate command (if cheats are on)
Type /locate biome minecraft:savanna in your chat. This gives you the coordinates of the nearest savanna biome. If you’re in a world with cheats enabled, this is by far the fastest method. For badlands, use minecraft:badlands instead.
Step 2: Look for warm, orange-toned terrain
If you’re doing it the old-fashioned way, head south or southwest from temperate biomes. Savanna tends to generate adjacent to deserts and plains in warmer climate zones. The acacia trees are your landmark – once you see those twisty flat-topped trees, you’re in the right place.
Step 3: Explore on horseback or in a minecart system
Cover ground quickly. Armadillos spawn in groups, so once you find the biome, you shouldn’t have to search long. Just… don’t sprint directly at them when you spot them or they’ll curl up immediately.
Step 4: Check during the day
Armadillos are daytime mobs. They don’t despawn, but they’re a lot harder to spot at night with everything going on. Mornings are ideal – spawn them out of the darkness and grab your scutes.
What Scares Armadillos (and Why It Matters for Farming)?
If you’re planning to farm armadillo scutes, you need to understand their behavior. Armadillos will curl into their shell when:
- A player is sprinting near them.
- A player is riding a mount (horse, strider, etc.).
- An undead mob is nearby – zombies, skeletons, and their variants all count.
While curled up, they won’t drop scutes if you try to brush them, and they can’t be bred. So if you’re setting up a little armadillo farm back at your base, make sure the area is well-lit to prevent undead spawns, and approach them walking – never running.
Brushing an armadillo with a brush tool causes it to drop a scute instantly. After that, there’s a cooldown before it sheds again naturally. Babies drop scutes automatically as they age, which makes breeding a solid long-term strategy.
Breeding Armadillos: Spider Eyes? Really?
Yes, really. To breed two armadillos, you hold spider eyes in your hand and feed them to each adult. They’ll enter love mode just like cows with wheat, and a baby armadillo appears. The baby doesn’t follow a timer exactly – it grows up over time, and during that growth process it sheds scutes, giving you a passive income of materials while you wait.
To get spider eyes consistently, you’ll want to fight regular spiders at night or set up a spider farm. It’s a bit of an indirect resource chain – spiders to spider eyes to armadillo breeding to wolf armor – but it works, and it gives you a reason to engage with multiple systems in the game.
Wolf Armor: Why You’re Doing All This
The whole point – or at least, the reason most players bother – is wolf armor.
| Item | Crafting Materials | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Wolf Armor | 6 Armadillo Scutes | Equips on tamed wolves; adds armor points |
| Brush | Feather, stick, copper ingot | Used to brush scutes from armadillos |
Wolf armor is equipped directly onto a tamed wolf. It has durability and can take damage, but here’s the good part: you can repair it using more armadillo scutes while it’s still on the wolf. You don’t have to unequip it. Just right-click the wolf with a scute in hand.
The armor has 64 durability points and gives wolves a decent buffer against damage. For anyone who takes their wolves into combat – witch huts, strongholds, raids – this is a significant quality-of-life upgrade.
Tips for New Players Hunting Armadillos in Minecraft
If you’re relatively new to Minecraft and tracking down armadillos for the first time, here’s the honest version of what to expect:
- Don’t give up on seed exploration early. Some seeds have savannas really close to spawn, others require a long journey. It’s worth using a map tool like Chunkbase to check your seed if you’re getting impatient.
- Bring food. You’ll be traveling, possibly through deserts and other biomes. Keep your hunger up.
- Mark your armadillo spot. Once you find a group of them, place a waypoint or a torch trail back to your base. You’ll want to come back repeatedly to farm scutes.
- Don’t sprint into them. Walk slowly when you approach. Armadillos that are curled up can’t be interacted with normally, and it’s just a waste of time waiting for them to uncurl.
- Bring a brush. Craft it before you go: one feather, one stick, and one copper ingot. It’s cheap and worth having in your hotbar.
The Mob Vote Story: Why Armadillos Won
This is worth mentioning because it adds a layer of context. The 2023 Mob Vote happened at Minecraft Live, and the three candidates were the Crab (would have added a new crafting item for extended reach), the Penguin (would have made boats faster in cold biomes), and the Armadillo.
The armadillo won, and the deciding factor for a lot of players was the wolf armor. Wolves have been in Minecraft since Beta 1.4 – that’s 2011 – and in all that time, you couldn’t protect them from damage in any meaningful way. The armadillo gave them that. It was a long time coming, and that emotional connection to tamed wolves probably swung the vote.
Mojang then implemented the armadillo in full with the 1.21 update, curling behavior and all.
FAQ
Where do armadillos spawn in Minecraft?
Armadillos spawn in Savanna and Badlands biomes. They appear in small groups on grass or terracotta blocks during daylight hours.
What do armadillos drop in Minecraft?
They drop armadillo scutes, which are used to craft wolf armor. You can get scutes by brushing them or waiting for them to shed naturally.
How do you breed armadillos in Minecraft?
Feed two adult armadillos spider eyes to trigger breeding. A baby armadillo will appear and gradually drop scutes as it grows.
What biome should I go to for armadillos?
The regular Savanna biome is your best bet – it’s more common than the Badlands and armadillos spawn there reliably. Avoid the Windswept Savanna subtype.
What scares armadillos in Minecraft?
Sprinting players, players on mounts, and nearby undead mobs cause armadillos to curl into their protective shell. While curled, they can’t be bred or brushed for scutes.
How do you make wolf armor in Minecraft?
Craft wolf armor using 6 armadillo scutes in the crafting table (arranged in the standard armor pattern minus the helmet row). Equip it directly on a tamed wolf.
Can you repair wolf armor?
Yes – right-click a wolf wearing damaged armor while holding an armadillo scute. The armor gets repaired without needing to remove it from the wolf first.
Wrapping Up
Finding armadillos in Minecraft isn’t complicated once you know what you’re doing – it’s really just about finding the right biome and approaching correctly. Head for a savanna, walk slowly, brush them with your brush, and start stockpiling scutes. Your wolves will thank you.
If you’re deep into a survival world and your tamed wolves keep dying in raids or dungeon runs, this is genuinely one of the more impactful things you can do with an afternoon. A few armadillos, a stack of spider eyes, and a bit of patience – and you’ve got armored wolf companions that can actually take a hit.
Now go find that savanna.
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