Hermit Crab Habitat Glowing Water Pool DIY
Hermit crabs need water to survive, but they also enjoy it for fun! Larger (safe) water pools allow hermit crabs to submerge and enjoy being underwater like they do in the wild.
Make your water pool even more stimulating by adding a soft glow! Not only will lighting make the water pool more attractive to your hermit crabs, it will also make your habitat more attractive to you!
We’ve got three easy ways to add a soft glow to your hermit crab habitat water pool.
Ideas for lighting a water pool with a soft attractive glow!
Make your hermit crab water pool glow! Want to see your hermit crabs find a renewed interest in submerging? Watch them perk up when the lights go out and the water has a low shimmering glow. The best news? You’ll be able to enjoy it too, it looks great!
3 Easy Ideas for lighting a water pool for an attractive soft glow
Add a soft glow to your water pool and watch your hermit crabs get all happy again! They will perk up, and most likely as soon as it’s nighttime and otherwise dark, your hermit crabs will be checking out the water pool as if it’s new!
Here are 3 easy ideas for adding soft lighting to your water pool:
- backlighting using a transparent water pool container
- spotlight above with a soft white or blue LED bulb
- submersible waterproof tealights
Backlighting and a transparent water pool container
Use a transparent container placed up against the back of your glass hermit crab habitat enclosure. Then place a light in the back of the habitat. The light will give an attractive, soft glow into the water.
Transparent containers can simply be a food grade plastic container, like from Rubbermaid or Tupperware. We are using an 8″ x 8″ x 4″ Rubbermaid food storage container. It’s up against the back of the glass enclosure, with lighting just behind it.
A note about water pools: make sure whatever container you use, there is a secure and easy way for hermit crabs to climb in and out (or they can drown).
Backlights can be as simple as a small home decor spotlight shining into the back of the glass enclosure. We use under-cabinet LED strips that we tape to the glass, with the light side up against the glass facing in.
See my post on adding a mini-filter: Hermit Crabs Love Moving Water
Using a clear plastic food container as a water pool can work with a little modification. Not only does it allow backlighting in when positioned correctly, you can add a mini filter and make sure to add a ramp! Here’s my post on Hermit Crab Water Ramp Ideas with photos of more types of water dishes, bowls and pools that can work well with just a small modification or two.
Spotlight above with a soft white or blue LED bulb
Place an aquarium or reptile LED spotlight above the enclosure, to shine directly on the water pool.
Make sure to purchase a spotlight with an auto timer so the lights go on and off each day at the same time.
Your hermit crabs like a bit of consistency with their lighting, like day/night cycles out in the wild!
Use submersible, waterproof tealights!
These fantastic little tealights are usually used in party and wedding decor. They are submersible and waterproof, and have a small battery that will last from 40-72 hours. They are temporary, yes… but are a great way to light your water pool temporarily (like when you want to show off your awesome hermit crab habitat to friends)!
Simply turn the waterproof tealight on, place it in the water and it will sit on the bottom and emit light up.
There are also floating waterproof tealights, but these will likely scare your hermit crabs into never wanting to touch the water!
These fun little lights come in white, soft white, purple, blue. There are also multi-color color-changing waterproof tealights that will make your hermit crab water pool look like there’s a party going on!
Looking for a fun DIY project your hermit crabs will love?
Make fake rock for hermit crab habitat mountains, cliffs and caves!
Last update on 2024-05-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API