The claws are used in defense and for opening ant and termite nests. All members of this family are confined to Central and South America. They live in lowland and upland tropical forest. Sloths have rounded heads and flattened faces, with small ears hidden in the fir. The blue-green algae give the fir coat a greenish hue that helps camouflage the animals in the tree canopy.
All species have large compartmented stomachs that contain cellulose-digesting bacteria.
Food may be digested for a month before passing into the relatively short intestine. Feces and urine are passed only once a week at habitual sites at the basses of trees. Sloths are believed to breed throughout the year. A single young is born at a time. Weaning occurs at about a month, and the young is carried on the mothers back for 6-9 months.