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Nine-banded armadillos are solitary, largely nocturnal animals that come out to forage around dusk. They are extensive burrowers, with a single animal sometimes maintaining up to 12 burrows on its range. These burrows are roughly 20 cm (8 in) wide, 210 cm (7 ft) deep, and 760 cm (25 ft) long.
(The leprosy bacterium is difficult to culture and armadillos have a body temperature of 34 °C (93 °F), similar to human skin.) [26] Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat. [27] [28] Armadillos are a presumed vector and natural reservoir for the disease in Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
The shell covering its body is armored and the outer layer is made out of keratin, the same protein that builds human fingernails. They are typically a yellow or brownish color. They are among the smaller armadillos, with a head-and-body length of about 22 to 27 cm (8.7 to 10.6 in) and a weight between 1 and 1.6 kg (2.2 and 3.5 lb). [4]
Nine-banded armadillos can carry leprosy, which can be transmitted to people, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife. Contact with armadillos should be kept to a minimum. What do ...
Armadillos are nocturnal, though they may move around during the day in cooler temperatures. A fascinating aside is that they always give birth to four identical babies, all of the same sex, says ...
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Armadillos are chiefly solitary, but this species will occasionally travel in small family groups of up to three members. They are largely nocturnal, but have been known to forage during the day. All the armadillos are spectacular diggers, but unlike most of the other species, three-banded armadillos do not dig in defense or to find shelter.
These armadillos do not do well in captivity. The survival rate is so low that many will die in transport from where they were captured to their new area of captivity. [14] Armadillos that are put into captivity typically do not last longer than a few hours or at most eight days. Not a single specimen has survived more than four years. [15]