Three-toed sloth Facts for Kids
Bradypus variegatus · BRAD-ee-pus vair-ee-uh-GAY-tus
The slowest mammal, hanging upside down in the rainforest trees.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ weight: not yet checked
- 📏 size: not yet checked
- 🎂 lifespan: not yet checked
- 🍽️ plants
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
Sloths hang upside down in trees. They move very, very slowly. Tiny green plants called algae grow in their fur.
A sloth eats leaves, which give very little energy, so it saves energy by moving slowly and resting a lot. Green algae grow in its fur and help it blend in with the leaves. It climbs down to the ground only about once a week, to go to the bathroom.
Three-toed sloths have long, curved claws that hook over branches, so hanging takes almost no effort; they eat, sleep and even give birth upside down. Their stomachs have several parts and digest leaves very slowly. Surprisingly, sloths are good swimmers. Their fur is home to algae, moths and beetles, a tiny world of its own.
How big is a three-toed sloth?
Three-toed sloth: no checked size yet, so there is nothing to draw. We only draw what a source says.
Three-toed sloth in numbers
| Length | no checked number yet |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | no checked number yet |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | no checked number yet |
| What it eats | leaves |
| Where it lives | the rainforests of Central and South America |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)1 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- Green algae grow in a sloth's fur.
- Sloths are surprisingly good swimmers.
- A three-toed sloth can turn its head much farther than you can.
Compare the three-toed sloth
Friends and neighbours
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Ruby-throated hummingbird
Scarlet macawThree questions
Books about the three-toed sloth, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the three-toed sloth for free.
Where these numbers come from
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Three-toed sloth (Q148752), checked 30 October 2026.