All five toes on the forefoot have claws, of which the second is the longest. The habitat is usually dry savannah or the drier parts of wet savannah. Its den is found in dry areas, and it moves abroad even in bright daylight. It continually digs new passageways in search of food. It generally burrows just one or two meters into the earth and then widens the underground area enough to turn around.
Defecation always takes place outside the den.
The diet consists of plant material and insects. Sometimes this armadillo becomes abundant around plantations, where it causes damage by eating sprouting corn and other crops. Its burrows can cause dangerous accidents when horses stumble into them on the pampas. A female taken in July in the Mato Grosso of Brazil was pregnant with two embryos, a male and a female, almost ready to be born.