Sniffer
passiveBreedableOurs, not the game's own: its whole drop list, how a sniffer behaves. Same on Bedrock v1.26.40.05 for health. Checked 2026-08-22, and here is how we check.
Added InOverview
The Sniffer is a passive mob in Minecraft, which means it will never attack a player and simply goes about its own behaviour.
Unlike most creatures, the Sniffer does not spawn naturally in the world. Does not spawn naturally. Hatched from Sniffer Eggs found in Suspicious Sand in Warm Ocean Ruins.
What sets it apart is its behaviour: digs in dirt, grass, and moss blocks to find ancient Torchflower Seeds and Pitcher Pods.
Stat-wise it sits at 14 health (7 hearts), dropping 1 to 3 experience on death.
The Sniffer has been part of the game since version 1.20.
Also worth noting: Eggs are found through archaeology.
Because it breeds and drops useful materials, the Sniffer is a staple of self-sufficient survival bases, supplying moss block on demand.
Spawning
Does not spawn naturally. Hatched from Sniffer Eggs found in Suspicious Sand in Warm Ocean Ruins.
That makes the Sniffer a mob you create rather than discover, so planning ahead is part of obtaining one.
With no attack to worry about, the Sniffer is something you gather or farm rather than fight.
Drops
The Sniffer drop table breaks down like this:
Every kill yields 1 Moss Block.
You also collect 1 to 3 experience for every Sniffer you defeat.
Moss Block from sniffers is renewable, so a small breeding setup keeps you supplied indefinitely.
Since every item here is guaranteed, the only variable is quantity, which makes this mob a dependable, low-variance source of what it carries.
Because the Sniffer is harmless and breeds, the efficient long-term approach is a small enclosed pen where a breeding pair keeps replacing what you harvest, rather than hunting wild ones down one by one.
| Item | Count | Chance | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moss Block | 1 | always |
Sniffer attributes
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
 Size | 1.9 x 1.75 blocks |
 Eye height | 1.05 blocks |
 Tracking range | 10 chunks |
 Movement speed | 0.1 |
| Follow range | 16 blocks |
 Experience | 1 to 3 |
 Health | 14 points |
The Sniffer shares this stretch of the scale: the allay on the same 0.1 movement speed, the axolotl on the same 14 health and the vex at that same figure.
Sniffer: 3 values straight out of Minecraft Java 26.2
Nothing in the biome spawn lists and nothing in the rolls on death names the sniffer, so the numbers on this page come from one place only: the game's own entry for it in Minecraft Java 26.2sets 14 health, 0.1 movement speed and 16 blocks follow range.
A sniffer averages 1 Moss Block a kill on the rolls Minecraft Java 26.2 makes for it, before Looting, which puts a full stack of 64 Moss Block at 64 kills.
| Weapon | Attack damage | Full swings | Swings per 64 Moss Block |
|---|---|---|---|
 golden sword, wooden sword | 4 | 4 | 256 |
 stone sword | 5 | 3 | 192 |
 iron sword | 6 | 3 | 192 |
 diamond sword, golden axe, wooden axe | 7 | 2 | 128 |
 netherite sword | 8 | 2 | 128 |
 diamond axe, iron axe, stone axe | 9 | 2 | 128 |
 netherite axe | 10 | 2 | 128 |
Behavior & Combat
In the field, digs in dirt, grass, and moss blocks to find ancient Torchflower Seeds and Pitcher Pods.
At 0.1 it is 68th of 72 for speed, just above the camel at 0.09.
Because it never attacks, you are in no danger from it directly; the Sniffer simply goes about its routine.
To breed them, hand Torchflower Seeds to a pair of adults; they enter love mode and a baby Sniffer appears, maturing in roughly twenty minutes.
All told, the Sniffer is a low-risk part of the world that rewards patience more than aggression.
Sniffer commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| /summon minecraft:sniffer | Puts a sniffer on the block you are standing on. |
| /give @p minecraft:sniffer_spawn_egg | Hands you the sniffer spawn egg, so you can place sniffers where you want them. |
| /kill @e[type=minecraft:sniffer] | Removes every sniffer that is loaded around you. |
Entity id minecraft:sniffer, spawn egg minecraft:sniffer_spawn_egg.
Sniffer farm
The sniffer does not roll onto a platform, so a farm is a pen: two adults and enough torchflower seeds keeps it going, and the pen has to grow with the herd rather than the spawning space.
Each kill is worth 1 to 3 experience and up to 1 moss block, so the size of the sniffer farm follows the number you need of that one item.
1 to 3 experience per kill
Moss Block up to 1Sniffer version history
2 June 2023 is the day the sniffer arrived, in Minecraft 1.20, and the sniffer has been part of the game for 3 years since.
One other mob here came with it: the camel. 75 of our 88 mobs are older than the sniffer, 11 are younger.
Every sniffer figure on this page is read from Minecraft Java 26.2 as it stands today, not from the version above.
What Sniffer sounds like
Turn subtitles on and every sniffer sound names itself in the corner of the screen. These are the 14 lines a sniffer can put there, and you can play any of them yourself with /playsound minecraft:entity.sniffer.idle master @p.
| Sound | What you hear |
|---|---|
| entity.sniffer.idle |  Sniffer grunts |
| entity.sniffer.hurt | Sniffer hurts |
| entity.sniffer.death | Sniffer dies |
| entity.sniffer.step | Sniffer steps |
| entity.sniffer.digging | Sniffer digs |
| entity.sniffer.digging_stop | Sniffer stands up |
| entity.sniffer.drop_seed | Sniffer drops seed |
| entity.sniffer.eat | Sniffer eats |
| entity.sniffer.egg_crack | Sniffer Egg cracks |
| entity.sniffer.egg_hatch | Sniffer Egg hatches |
| entity.sniffer.happy | Sniffer delights |
| entity.sniffer.scenting | Sniffer scents |
| entity.sniffer.searching | Sniffer searches |
| entity.sniffer.sniffing | Sniffer sniffs |
Advancements that need Sniffer
2 advancements ask for sniffer by name, 1 of them about the sniffer alone.
Little SniffsFeed a Snifflet
Two by TwoBreed all the animals!
