How to get sniffer eggs in Minecraft 1.20 update

Though Minecraft 1.20 won't arrive for some time, players can check out many of its features thanks to the snapshots and previews provided in Java and Bedrock Editions. The most visible feature added is the sniffer, the game's newest mob that won last year's Mob Vote competition.

At the moment, the sniffer is still in development and doesn't have its full host of behaviors in Java snapshots and Bedrock previews. These creatures can currently only be spawned into the world via spawn eggs in Creative Mode or the use of commands.

However, a recent blog post on Minecraft's official site by Sofia Dankis has revealed how players can bring sniffers into the world through the use of eggs.

Though they aren't part of the current Minecraft betas, sniffer eggs will likely be implemented in future previews as well as the full 1.20 update.

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What to do to find sniffer eggs in Minecraft 1.20, according to Mojang's recent blog post

The sniffer's eggs have been a topic of speculation among the Minecraft community (Image via Mojang)

During the sniffer's official reveal in 2022's Minecraft Mob Vote, it was implied by Mojang that sniffer eggs would be found underwater, specifically within underwater ruin structures.

Though that may still be true as update 1.20 approaches, the recent blog post by Sofia Dankis has revealed that sniffer eggs can be acquired by excavating the new suspicious sand block, which is a crucial aspect of the new archeology feature.

Suspicious sand is available in Minecraft Java snapshot 23w07a and its Bedrock equivalent. However, this block currently only provides pottery shards, as sniffer eggs have not yet been introduced in the game's pre-1.20 betas.

This may change in the coming days and weeks, but the blog post by Sofia has confirmed that suspicious sand will indeed yield sniffer eggs at some point in the development cycle for the mob.

As an ancient mob, it makes sense that Minecraft players will have to do some digging into the long-forgotten ground to find sniffer eggs. Sofia remarked on this fact directly in the official Mojang release about update 1.20:

"Sniffer eggs can be found in suspicious sand, which also contains other objects like pottery shards. Once you’ve unearthed your egg, it’s time to help it hatch! I implore you to pay close attention to this part of the process, because you have not lived until you have seen a snifflet burst out of its shell."

Here's how to unearth sniffer eggs in Minecraft 1.20:

1. Begin by crafting a brush. This new tool can be created via a crafting table by combining two sticks and three pieces of string. The sticks should be placed in the center and bottom-center slots, and the string should be placed along the top row of crafting slots.
2. Head out on the hunt for suspicious sand blocks. These blocks can be found in desert pyramid and desert well structures. If you don't mind using commands in Minecraft, you can use the "/locate structure desert_pyramid" command without quotations to find the nearest pyramid. However, the same command can't be used for desert wells, as these structures are considered generic and aren't listed in the available command syntax at the moment.
3. As you comb through desert pyramids and wells, look for sand blocks with a slightly different texture featuring small pits in its face. These are suspicious sand blocks, and you'll need to be incredibly careful not to break them to avoid risking losing the chance to brush them. Be sure not to mine them or the blocks underneath them, as they are influenced by gravity and will break when they fall and land.
4. Equip your brush and right-click or press the use item/tool button on your controller. Keep the button held as you continue to brush the suspicious sand. Eventually, the contents within the sand will pop out, and the suspicious sand will revert to ordinary sand.

With these steps, players will be able to obtain sniffer eggs in Minecraft 1.20 update. After obtaining sniffer eggs, place them on any block to began the hatching process. These giant eggs hatch faster when placed on moss blocks.

Furthermore, sniffers can only spawn in the current game previews via commands and Creative Mode's spawn eggs. Players will likely have to wait for some time before sniffer eggs are made available in a future round of betas.