Armadillo Habitat & Physiology

Habitat

• The armadillo's habitat is well suited to its natural abilities and physiology. An omnivore -- eating both meat and plants -- the armadillo feeds mainly on what it can dig up. Choice habitats are found near areas where the soil is loose and sandy, making it easier for the animal to dig. They are often found near running water, which also makes for easy soil to dig in. Their heavy plates make cool, shady areas a must. Armadillos spend much of the day in deep burrows, usually constructed in areas where there is plenty of thick underbrush to give more protection from the sun and possible threats.

Mobility

• The armadillo may look like an ungainly creature with its heavy shell, but an armadillo can run quite quickly while being chased. It also has the ability to leap three to four feet straight into the air when startled, a behavior that has given rise to several Mayan legends as well as partially contributing to the high number of armadillos killed by passing cars. Instead of allowing the car to pass above it, the armadillo will often jump, startled, then be hit and killed.

  The armadillo also has a physiological ability which makes habitats near water a prime choice. These creatures can hold their breath for between five and six minutes and have been seen walking along the bottoms of slow-moving streams and ponds to cross to the other side. If the armadillo would rather float, it has the ability to draw air into its stomach, lungs and intestines in order to make it more buoyant.

Defense

• The armadillo's scaly exterior is a deterrent to predators, but only one of the 20 species of armadillo can completely encase itself in its shell. The three-banded armadillo has three armored plates that can be bent around the creature when it rolls into a ball. Other species have shells that are similarly jointed to allow movement but cannot curl into a complete ball. Because the plates require a lack of fur or fat, the armadillo typically thrives in warm environments; while it is found throughout South America, it only lives in the warmer climates and not in cold areas like the Andes or in desert areas where the nighttime temperature drops drastically.

Reproduction

• For many armadillos, such as the nine-banded and the Andean hairy, mating season is in the summer. Gestation can begin months later, as species like the nine-banded have the ability to delay the implantation of the fertilized egg. The young are born in anywhere from late February to early April and raised in underground burrows. Young armadillos are always the same gender and always identical, as they are created from a single egg that divides into the four individual offspring.

  Young mature quickly, and are born with soft shells that harden as they develop. Mating season, implantation and birth are thought to be dependent on the environmental factors of their habitats, giving mother and offspring the best chance at survival. The delayed gestation period allows the female to travel to a new area, build a new burrow and then have her young, raising them during the spring months.