How to Find and Breed a Sniffer in Minecraft

There’s something endearing about critters with big noses, don’t you think? Maybe it’s just because I found it cute when my childhood dog sniffed me, but the idea of a big, fluffy beast that loves to sniff things puts a smile on my face. If you’d like a creature like that in Minecraft, then it’s time to learn about Sniffers! Here’s how to find and breed a Sniffer in Minecraft.

How to Find and Breed a Sniffer in Minecraft

Sniffers are big and burly mobs that you can breed to help you out in Minecraft. These chonky Charlies are friendly and passive by nature, mostly content to wander around overworld biomes and mind their own business. However, their powerful noses allow them to sniff out valuable seeds buried deep in the ground and dig them out, which can be invaluable for your agricultural pursuits.

Related: Minecraft: How Many Types of Tropical Fish Are There and How to Breed Them

The tricky thing about Sniffers is that they’re an ancient species, which means they can’t actually be found in any of Minecraft’s biomes. However, though they may be dormant, there is a way to bring Sniffers back into the modern age. All it takes is an archeology Brush, which you can craft using a Stick, a Copper Ingot, and a Feather.

Using a Brush, search out blocks of Sand or Gravel that have a distinctive, wavy pattern on them. Using your Brush on these blocks yields random ancient items, and if you’re lucky, the item you’ll get is a Sniffer Egg. Once you’ve got an egg, just set it down somewhere, wait a little while, and boom, a newborn Sniffer, also known as a Snifflet. Just give that Snifflet a bit of time and love, and it’ll eventually grow into a proper Sniffer.

Breeding Sniffers

Once you’ve found a couple of Sniffer Eggs and have at least two fully-grown Sniffers on your hands, you can start breeding them. Breeding Sniffers works the same as it does for any other critter, with the exception being the item you need to feed them. Sniffers will only breed if you feed them Torchflower Seeds, which you can obtain by having your Sniffers sniff around and dig them up for you.

Sniffers can dig up Torchflower Seeds in the following block types:

• Dirt
• Grass
• Podzol
• Coarse Dirt
• Rooted Dirt
• Moss
• Mud
• Muddy Mangrove Roots

With a stack of Torchflower Seeds in hand, place two of your Sniffers next to each other and feed them the seeds until hearts appear over their heads. The two of them will promptly do the deed, and a newborn Snifflet will appear a moment later. You can keep breeding the same two Sniffers repeatedly, though they do need a five minute cooldown between… sessions, let’s call them.

Revive the Sniffers from ancient times to have a cuddly companion who can both give you a friendly sniff and track down a variety of valuable seeds for you. There’s basically no downside to having these things around.

While we’re on the subject of rare Minecraft acquisitions, check out our guides on getting Sponges and Scutes. Visit our Facebook page as well for the latest news and guides.