Velvet ant care help

[SupremeBananus]

I caught a couple of small Mutillidae sp. and need some help to make sure that I got their care correct. I'm not able to find much information on them but from what I gathered, I made a temporary enclosure and I want to check that I've done it right.
In the final enclosure, everything will be pretty much the same except the enclosure will be larger and there will be more hides.

I used some sort of sand mixture that I had lying around and the substrate is about as deep as the length of their body, which is not much since they're pretty small but they are constantly running around and digging so I wonder if I should give them more?
I'm using the lid of a vial as a food dish because that's all I have lying around. I'm feeding them a honey and water mixture, 6 parts water 1 part honey. I've never seen them use it though. I'd like to maybe get one of those feeders people use for ants so it would be closed off and not make a mess, and also get some of those insect feeder jelly cups. I don't know if I'm supposed to constantly have food in there for them, and if I should also have plain water in there for them to drink?

If there is anything I should do differently or add, please let me know. This is my first time keeping an invert other than arachnids so I'm pretty lost.

 

[chanda]

I caught a couple of small Mutillidae sp. and need some help to make sure that I got their care correct. I'm not able to find much information on them but from what I gathered, I made a temporary enclosure and I want to check that I've done it right.
In the final enclosure, everything will be pretty much the same except the enclosure will be larger and there will be more hides.

I used some sort of sand mixture that I had lying around and the substrate is about as deep as the length of their body, which is not much since they're pretty small but they are constantly running around and digging so I wonder if I should give them more?
I'm using the lid of a vial as a food dish because that's all I have lying around. I'm feeding them a honey and water mixture, 6 parts water 1 part honey. I've never seen them use it though. I'd like to maybe get one of those feeders people use for ants so it would be closed off and not make a mess, and also get some of those insect feeder jelly cups. I don't know if I'm supposed to constantly have food in there for them, and if I should also have plain water in there for them to drink?

If there is anything I should do differently or add, please let me know. This is my first time keeping an invert other than arachnids so I'm pretty lost.

When I've kept velvet ants, I don't bother with honey/water mixture. I just give them sliced oranges and grapes, and they drink readily from those. You just have to swap out the fruit every couple of days, as it dries out (and before it gets moldy). The oranges should be sliced with a knife - not peeled and sectioned - so the juice is exposed at the surface. They also enjoy fresh flowers from the garden as an occasional treat - I just pick blooms from whatever the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees are currently interested in. They don't actually eat the flowers themselves, but will sip nectar from them.

A sand mixture is fine for substrate, but I'd go a bit deeper than their body length (maybe 2-3x their body length) because they do sometimes like to burrow. Or you can compensate for lack of depth by providing bits of bark, sticks, or dead leaves lying on the surface that they can crawl underneath - and climb and explore.

If you feed them fresh fruit, you don't need a food dish - you can place halved grapes or small orange slices directly on the sand. I've never bothered giving them a water dish because their food is liquid anyway, so it doesn't seem necessary.

Be aware that they can climb the sides of the enclosure, so make sure your ventilation holes are small enough that they can't squeeze through.

 

[chanda]

Accidental double post. Mods - please delete. Thank you!

 

[Aquarimax]

I caught a couple of small Mutillidae sp. and need some help to make sure that I got their care correct. I'm not able to find much information on them but from what I gathered, I made a temporary enclosure and I want to check that I've done it right.
In the final enclosure, everything will be pretty much the same except the enclosure will be larger and there will be more hides.

I used some sort of sand mixture that I had lying around and the substrate is about as deep as the length of their body, which is not much since they're pretty small but they are constantly running around and digging so I wonder if I should give them more?
I'm using the lid of a vial as a food dish because that's all I have lying around. I'm feeding them a honey and water mixture, 6 parts water 1 part honey. I've never seen them use it though. I'd like to maybe get one of those feeders people use for ants so it would be closed off and not make a mess, and also get some of those insect feeder jelly cups. I don't know if I'm supposed to constantly have food in there for them, and if I should also have plain water in there for them to drink?

If there is anything I should do differently or add, please let me know. This is my first time keeping an invert other than arachnids so I'm pretty lost.

I usethe mega ant feeders with sugar/water mixture as well as beetle jelly cups and homemade beetle jelly, and juicy fruit.
Here is a video I made on their care, it may be useful:

 

[SupremeBananus]

When I've kept velvet ants, I don't bother with honey/water mixture. I just give them sliced oranges and grapes, and they drink readily from those. You just have to swap out the fruit every couple of days, as it dries out (and before it gets moldy). The oranges should be sliced with a knife - not peeled and sectioned - so the juice is exposed at the surface. They also enjoy fresh flowers from the garden as an occasional treat - I just pick blooms from whatever the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees are currently interested in. They don't actually eat the flowers themselves, but will sip nectar from them.

A sand mixture is fine for substrate, but I'd go a bit deeper than their body length (maybe 2-3x their body length) because they do sometimes like to burrow. Or you can compensate for lack of depth by providing bits of bark, sticks, or dead leaves lying on the surface that they can crawl underneath - and climb and explore.

If you feed them fresh fruit, you don't need a food dish - you can place halved grapes or small orange slices directly on the sand. I've never bothered giving them a water dish because their food is liquid anyway, so it doesn't seem necessary.

Be aware that they can climb the sides of the enclosure, so make sure your ventilation holes are small enough that they can't squeeze through.

Thank you!! Yes I've heard of people feeding them certain fruits but I've heard lots of different opinions on which is better. Since I have extra of the mixture I'm using, I'll stick with it for a while and then I'll see how they do with other foods.

 

[SupremeBananus]

I usethe mega ant feeders with sugar/water mixture as well as beetle jelly cups and homemade beetle jelly, and juicy fruit.
Here is a video I made on their care, it may be useful:

Lmao I actually just watched the unboxing video! I haven't seen that one yet. Thank you for the help!