The long tail is covered completely with rings of scutes.
Scutes on the bands are triangular, while scutes on the rest of the body are hexagonal. The top side of the armadillo, including its head, is covered with a bony protective shell (or carapace) made up of bone covered in scales (or scutes). Timid creatures, armadillos wear their primary defense mechanism on their backs, which, like a turtle, is connected to their skin. When not after food, they sleep in burrows, which, in the Highland Lakes, could be natural caves, cracks, and crevices of limestone outcroppings or dug out of the soil. Originally thought to be toothless, they have four square, peg-like teeth that can’t be seen, even when their mouths are fully open. Their sense of smell makes up for their poor eyesight. While foraging, the armadillo makes a grunting noise. The softer the soil, the more armadillos. Soil texture is directly related to the number of armadillos in an area. They eat bugs, worms, and slugs that prefer soft ground. Armadillos dig up the earth with large, powerful claws and capture their prey with long, sticky tongues. It takes the animal several hours to release all of the air after its swim.Īn acute sense of smell helps them locate food, even if it's hiding 8 inches underground. Crossing larger bodies of water requires the armadillo to inflate its intestines with air so it can swim across. Because of its ability to hold its breath for up to six minutes and fill its intestines with water, an armadillo and its heavy shell can cross narrow streams or ditches by walking underwater along the bottom. While nursing, the young remain with the mother for several months.Īrmadillos typically make their homes near a source of water.
They begin walking a few hours after birth. Females always give birth to four identical babies called pups, which are born in the spring fully formed with soft shells and open eyes. Loners, these nocturnal, shelled creatures don’t live or travel in groups except during mating season, when males and females pair up and sometimes even share a burrow. Named after the number of accordion-like bands that make up the mid-section of its protective shell, the nine-banded armadillo is more common in Texas than any other state in the country. July is the beginning of breeding season for the nine-banded armadillo, the official Texas state small mammal since 1995.
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