{"id":9622,"date":"2021-10-04T21:21:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T21:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/?p=9622"},"modified":"2022-03-31T21:31:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T21:31:18","slug":"what-does-an-armadillo-eat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/what-does-an-armadillo-eat\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does An Armadillo Eat?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever seen an armadillo<\/a> scratching around in your backyard? Maybe you\u2019re hoping to trap and relocate the armadillo and you are wondering what types of food to use as bait. Whatever the reason, you\u2019re wondering, \u201cWhat does an armadillo eat?\u201d<\/em> How much does an armadillo eat during an average day, and how many different kinds of food will it eat? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading! In this article, we\u2019ll answer all of these questions and more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is an Armadillo’s Favorite Food?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Armadillos eat a lot of different types of foods, but they seem to prefer foods that they dig for. Grubs, earthworms, and other ground-dwelling insects are some of their favorites. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, armadillos will eat many other types of insects, such as grasshoppers, termites, and wasps. They also like all kinds of spiders, snails, beetles, ants, and even scorpions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armadillos won\u2019t stop at bugs and insects, though. They are omnivores, so they eat pretty much anything they can get. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the National Wildlife Federation<\/a>, armadillos will eat nearly 500 different types of food. Aside from insects, some other foods they like to eat include small reptiles, mushrooms, fruits, veggies, seeds and other plant matter, eggs of birds and reptiles, and even carrion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Much Does an Armadillo Eat Per Day?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The exact amount of food armadillos eat varies and may depend on season and species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One source<\/a> claims the 9-banded armadillo can eat up to 40,000 ants in one setting, while the giant armadillo can eat up to 200,000. <\/strong>Aside from this number, though, there is not a lot of specific information available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is known is that armadillos spend most of their waking time either digging for food or creating burrows. They may only be awake for 8 to 10 hours in a 24 hour period, spending the rest of their day asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this reason, they may be able to survive on a relatively smaller amount of food than animals of similar size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out this video of an armadillo scrounging around for bugs in the yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Rc2yk2U_7Ww<\/a>