Minecraft 1.20: How to spot suspicious sand and get Sniffer eggs

Suspicious sand hides many secrets in Minecraft 1.20, but you'll need the right tools to claim its treasure

Contents

1. How to find suspicious sand – Minecraft 1.20
2. Suspicious sand loot – Minecraft 1.20

Archeology is one of the big new features added in Minecraft 1.20: The Trails & Tales Update. Whether it’s the new trail ruins you can find buried just below the surface or ocean ruins hidden in the depths, you’ll need to do some careful digging if you want to get your hands on the new Armor Trims or Pottery Sherds.

It requires some specialist equipment and a good eye, so we’ll tell you everything you need to know about suspicious sand in Minecraft 1.20.

If you want to know everything about the latest update, we have the full Minecraft 1.20 patch notes for you to read.

How to find suspicious sand – Minecraft 1.20

The differences between regular sand and suspicious sand are subtle in Minecraft 1.20

Whether you’re looking in the ocean, in trail ruins, or in desert pyramids, you’re likely to encounter suspicious sand mixed in with regular sand, and you need to be careful how you dig it all up.

Above is an image of the difference between regular sand and suspicious sand. It can be quite hard to spot, but if you’re really struggling, you can always install a texture pack that makes the difference more obvious.

If you break suspicious sand with a shovel like normal, then you will get nothing – even with the Silk Touch enchantment. Instead, you must craft a brush with a feather, copper ingot, and stick in a vertical line on a crafting table.

Use the brush on any suspicious sand you find and you’ll slowly uncover an item.

Suspicious sand loot – Minecraft 1.20

Sniffer Eggs can only be obtained from suspicious sand in ocean ruins in Minecraft 1.20

A bunch of unique items can only be found from suspicious sand and gravel, including the brand-new Sniffer egg, which can be hatched into a special mob.

What loot you get is dependent on the structure where you find the sand, so here’s what you could get:

Desert Pyramid:

• Archer Pottery Sherd
• Emerald
• Gunpowder
• Miner Pottery Sherd
• Prize Pottery Sherd
• Skull Pottery Sherd
• TNT
• Diamond

Ocean Ruins:

• Angler Pottery Sherd
• Coal
• Emerald
• Gold Nugget
• Iron Axe
• Shelter Pottery Serd
• Sniffer Egg (6.7% chance)
• Snort Pottery Sherd
• Wheat
• Wooden Hoe