Hobbies And Interests
Process
Armadillos get energy from the digestion of food inside their bodies. Just like any other living animal on Earth, the creatures masticate matter in their mouths or swallow it whole. It enters the stomach, where acids break the matter up into minute particles. This solution is moved through the bowels, where it is first mixed with bile to neutralize the acids; useful fats, proteins, carbohydrates and nutrients are absorbed. During this time, the bowels also absorb the water from the mix, returning it to a semi-solid state and the remains are expelled as bodily waste.
Diet
Being omnivores, armadillos eat a varied diet of plants, other small animals and insects. They like berries, tender roots, lizards, snakes and frogs. However, 90 percent of the armadillo's diet is made up of insects and larvae such as maggots, beetles, ants and termites. An armadillo has digging claws and a long, thin tongue designed to help find and eat insects. This creature also has a keen sense of smell that it uses to sniff out food.
Dietary Habits
The armadillo lives in burrows dug into the ground, so the animal is always within the environment of its main food source. These creatures have a slow metabolism and sleep up to 16 hours a day, spending most of their waking hours in the early morning and evening looking for food. The armadillio is not generally a threat to people, nor does it see humans as a potential food source. It can scratch if threatened or picked up, despite the belief that all armadillos will curl up into a ball when frightened.
Fun Facts
Only one variety of armadillo can curl completely into a ball when threatened by predators, the three-banded armadillo. The other varieties are still covered by an armored plating, but have too many plates to successfully curl up. Armadillos can also swim via a strong dog paddle. An armadillo is capable of holding its breath for between four and six minutes. Its heavy shell tends to make the armadillo sink, so it picks its way along the river bed using claws or swallows air to make itself more buoyant.